School threat assessment laws
Where every state stands on school teams that assess students whose behavior may pose a threat.
Every fact checked against the official source by an independent reviewer · Last verified October 26, 2026
- Required by law21
- Required by state rule1
- Allowed by law5
- Funding only1
- Guidance only16
- No law found7
What is a school threat assessment law?
These laws deal with behavioral threat assessment, which North Carolina defines as "a fact-based process of identifying, assessing, and managing behavior that may pose a risk of violence or other harm to self or others." Virginia requires each local school board to adopt policies for threat assessment teams that cover "individuals whose behavior may pose a threat to the safety of school staff or students," and each division superintendent to set up a team for each school. Florida requires each district school board and charter school governing board to set up a threat management team at each school, and every team must use the state's own threat assessment instrument. Other states go less far. Iowa says boards "may establish" a multidisciplinary school safety assessment team, and California's education department urges, but does not require, schools to use behavioral threat assessment teams.
Which states have a school threat assessment law?
The table below gives the status in every state and the District of Columbia as of October 26, 2026.
| State | What the law says | Law or rule | Who's on the team | Training | Reporting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Guidance only: a 2018 Governor's council recommended a threat assessment model, and each district's safety coordinator must be trained in behavioral threat assessment. | Ala. Code § 16-22B-5; Governor's SAFE Council report (guidance) | — | District safety coordinator, within a year of being named | — |
| Alaska | No law found: each school must form a crisis response team, but that team is for crisis planning, not threat assessment. | AS 14.33.100 (crisis teams) | — | — | — |
| Arizona | No law found: a 2020 bill that would have required district and charter boards to adopt policies setting up threat assessment teams was not enacted. | — | — | — | — |
| Arkansas | Required by law: each public school district and open-enrollment charter school must establish a behavioral threat assessment team that follows best practices for team makeup and process. | Ark. Code § 6-15-1303(h); 6 CAR § 249-105 | Not named; the law points to best practices | All members, basic and advanced, from the Arkansas Center for School Safety or an approved provider | — |
| California | Guidance only: the state education department urges, but does not require, all schools and districts to engage multidisciplinary behavioral threat assessment teams. | CDE guidance letter (2023) | Multidisciplinary (guidance) | — | — |
| Colorado | Allowed by law, narrowly: a statute describes threat assessment teams centered on students in out-of-home placement as teams an education provider "may develop." | C.R.S. 22-32-138(2)(b)(V) | — | State security grants may pay for staff threat assessment training | — |
| Connecticut | Guidance only: a state university center can bring the CSTAG threat assessment model to districts free of charge. | WCSU Center for School Safety (guidance) | — | CSTAG training on request (guidance) | — |
| Delaware | Guidance only: the state School Safety Center offers training, best practices, case management software and resources to help schools set up behavioral threat assessment teams. | Delaware School Safety Center (guidance) | — | Team training from the state center | — |
| District of Columbia | Guidance only: the 2025 DC school emergency playbook includes a guide for responding to student threats. | DC School Emergency Playbook (2025, guidance) | Administrator, with input from the counselor, psychologist, social worker and/or SRO (guidance) | — | — |
| Florida | Required by law: each district school board and charter school governing board must set up a threat management team at each school. | s. 1006.07(7), F.S.; Rule 6A-1.0019, F.A.C. | Counseling, instruction, school administration and law enforcement, plus someone who knows the student | All members, on the state model, with a yearly refresher | District coordinator reports data to the state Office of Safe Schools |
| Georgia | Required by law: by January 1, 2027, each public school safety plan must include a behavioral threat assessment management plan with a "structured, multidisciplinary process." | O.C.G.A. § 20-2-1185.1 | Not named; the process must be multidisciplinary | Safety plans must cover staff training on school threat assessment | Plans go to the state behavioral health department for approval |
| Hawaii | No law found: a 2024 plan from the state Office of Homeland Security, not a law, sets a goal of behavioral threat assessment teams operating effectively statewide. | — | — | — | — |
| Idaho | Guidance only: the state Office of School Safety and Security offers an eight-hour behavioral threat assessment team training for school staff and partner agencies. | IOSSS guidance | Multidisciplinary (guidance) | Eight-hour team training (state office) | — |
| Illinois | Required by law: each school district must implement a threat assessment procedure that includes creating a threat assessment team. | 105 ILCS 128/45 | At least one law enforcement official, plus district staff who know students' mental and behavioral health needs | None set in the team law | Procedure and team list filed yearly with local law enforcement and the regional office of education |
| Indiana | Required by law: each school corporation's and charter school's safety plan must include a multi-disciplinary threat assessment team, by July 1, 2025. | IC 10-21-1-10 | School safety specialist, administrator, SRO if any, special education expert, counselor or social worker, and a safe school committee member | School safety specialist takes yearly state training | Plan open to state inspection and filed with the county school safety commission |
| Iowa | Allowed by law: district boards and accredited nonpublic schools "may establish" a multidisciplinary school safety assessment team. | Iowa Code § 280.36 | May include law enforcement, juvenile court, mental health, social services and a school official | — | — |
| Kansas | No law found: state guidance says schools "should have policies for violent behavior" that focus on prevention and a quick response. | — | — | — | — |
| Kentucky | Required by law: each district's school safety coordinator must designate a threat assessment team of two or more staff at each school. | KRS 158.4412 | Two or more staff; may include administrators, counselors, SROs, mental health providers and teachers | Coordinator trains within six months of appointment | None in the team provision |
| Louisiana | Guidance only: since August 1, 2026, the district team once named for threat assessment is a "district safety and emergency team," and state guidance recommends school threat assessment teams. | La. R.S. 17:416.16; LDOE guidance | — | — | — |
| Maine | Guidance only: no team is named, but each board's code of conduct must set procedures to identify, assess and intervene with students who may pose a threat of violence. | 20-A MRSA § 1001(15)(F) | Administrator, mental health staff, law enforcement and a special educator (guidance) | Free CSTAG training from the Maine School Safety Center | — |
| Maryland | Required by law: each local school system must adopt a policy for setting up assessment teams that is consistent with the state model policy. | Md. Code, Educ. § 7-1507 | Administrators, behavioral health staff, an educator who knows the student, and law enforcement or security (model policy) | Professional development for all members (model policy) | — |
| Massachusetts | No law found: the crisis response team in each superintendent's evacuation plan is an emergency response team, not a threat assessment team. | — | — | — | — |
| Michigan | Required by law: by October 1, 2026, public, charter and nonpublic school boards must make sure each school has a behavior threat assessment and management team. | MCL 380.1308e | School administrator, mental health professional, and an SRO or other law enforcement official | None in the team law; state police provide material and train on request | None in the team law |
| Minnesota | Guidance only: the state School Safety Center recommends a threat assessment process and offers free one-day behavioral threat assessment trainings. | Minnesota School Safety Center (guidance) | — | Free one-day trainings (state center) | — |
| Mississippi | Guidance only: the state's statutory "threat assessment" is a yearly building inspection by a certified officer, and state guidance describes a separate threat assessment team. | Miss. Code § 37-3-93(3); MDE School Safety Manual | — | — | — |
| Missouri | Guidance only: from 2026-27, districts and charter schools must train teachers and staff to spot potential threats, which is general staff training, not a team. | RSMo 170.315 | — | Teachers and staff, on identifying potential threats | — |
| Montana | Required by law: each district's school safety or emergency operations plan must include a threat assessment team of key staff that meets at least monthly. | MCA 20-1-401(3)(b) | "Key staff"; no roles named | — | Trustees certify the yearly plan review to the Office of Public Instruction |
| Nebraska | Allowed by law: the state's Safe2HelpNE report line is available to any public or nonpublic school that has a threat assessment team. | Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 79-3103 to 79-3105 | At least five trained members, including the principal or designee, a mental health professional and a staff member | State education department trains team members | — |
| Nevada | Required by law: district boards and charter school governing bodies must appoint a team of at least three staff at each school that acts on SafeVoice reports, including threats. | NRS 388.14553 | An administrator, plus a counselor, psychologist or social worker if the school employs one full time | State office trains each member | — |
| New Hampshire | No law found: a state task force recommended, but did not require, community- or district-level threat assessment task forces. | — | — | — | — |
| New Jersey | Required by law: district boards and charter and renaissance school boards must adopt a policy setting up a threat assessment team at each school. | N.J.S.A. 18A:17-43.4 to -43.6 | To the extent possible: a counseling expert, a teacher, a principal or senior administrator, an SRO or law enforcement liaison, and the school safety specialist | Each member, from the school safety specialist | None in the act's state-level section |
| New Mexico | Guidance only: the state's 2026-27 school safety plan review scores a Behavioral Threat Assessment Matrix as Met or Not Met, an agency expectation rather than a law. | NM PED Safe Schools Plan rubric (agency) | — | — | — |
| New York | Allowed by law: a state regulation lets district safety plans include a multi-disciplinary behavioral assessment team, "where applicable." | 8 NYCRR § 155.17 | School, district, county or regional team | If a team is used, yearly staff training covers it | — |
| North Carolina | Required by law: each public school unit's superintendent must set up a threat assessment team for each school, and one team may serve more than one school. | G.S. 115C-105.65 | Counseling, instruction, school administration and law enforcement; a school psychologist when practicable | Teams train students and staff to recognize and report threats | Teams report activity data to the Center for Safer Schools |
| North Dakota | No law found: a district board "may develop" a school safety plan, and that section says nothing about a threat assessment team. | — | — | — | — |
| Ohio | Required by law: each public school district must create a threat assessment team for each building serving grades 6 through 12. | R.C. 3313.669 | Multidisciplinary when possible; may include administrators, mental health staff and SROs | Approved training on appointment and every three years | Proof of member training goes in the emergency plan sent to the Director of Public Safety |
| Oklahoma | Funding only: to get a state school security grant, a school must agree to spend it on assessment-recommended items and/or behavioral threat assessment and management training. | 74 O.S. § 51.2b | — | Staff threat assessment training, as a grant use | — |
| Oregon | Allowed by law: the state must make multidisciplinary school safety assessment teams available to help districts assess students who are violent or threaten violence. | ORS 339.341 | School-level team of an administrator, counselor and/or psychologist (guidance) | Regional state specialists provide training | — |
| Pennsylvania | Required by law: every school entity, including districts, intermediate units, career and technical schools and charter schools, must establish at least one threat assessment team. | 24 P.S. § 13-1302-E | School health, counseling or psychology or social work, special education, administration, and the safety coordinator | Yearly training opportunities for members | Yearly report to the board, passed to the state committee, with the number and makeup of teams |
| Rhode Island | Required by law: each district superintendent must set up a threat assessment team for each school. | R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-21-23.2 | Guidance, counseling, school administration, mental health and law enforcement | — | None in the team law |
| South Carolina | Required by law: under the FY 2026-27 state budget, each school must identify key staff and maintain a threat assessment team. | FY 2026-27 Appropriations Act, Proviso 1.64 | Not named in the budget proviso | State education department provides professional development | A state-level team collects district threat assessment and safety plans |
| South Dakota | Guidance only: the state School Safety Center and Department of Public Safety provide free CSTAG threat assessment training for schools. | SD School Safety Center (guidance) | Multidisciplinary (guidance) | Free CSTAG training | — |
| Tennessee | Required by law: each school district must adopt a policy setting up a threat assessment team, after a 2023 change from "may" to "shall." | Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-6-2701 | District staff and law enforcement | From local law enforcement or mental health providers | Activity reports go to the Department of Safety and the state School Safety Center |
| Texas | Required by law: each district's board must establish a threat assessment and safe and supportive school team to serve each campus. | Tex. Educ. Code § 37.115 | Counseling, behavior management, mental health, instruction, special education, administration, safety, emergency management and law enforcement, as practicable | Evidence-based training from the Texas School Safety Center or a regional service center | Each team reports to TEA for each campus |
| Utah | Required by state rule: each K-12 public school must implement an evidence-based threat assessment run by multidisciplinary teams. | Utah Admin. Code R277-400-9 | A school administrator as leader and the school safety and security specialist | Specialist attends yearly state training | State board must require local education agencies to report when a student has presented a credible threat |
| Vermont | Required by law: each school district and approved or recognized independent school must adopt a behavioral threat assessment team policy at least as thorough as the state model. | 16 V.S.A. § 1485 | Not listed in the statute | Best-practice and bias training at least once a year | Yearly data on all assessments to the Agency of Education |
| Virginia | Required by law: each division superintendent must set up a threat assessment team for each school, under policies the local school board adopts. | Va. Code § 22.1-79.4 | Counseling, instruction, school administration and law enforcement; an SRO if the school has one | Initial training, then a refresher every three years | Teams report data through the state center's case management tool |
| Washington | Required by law: each school district must adopt a policy and procedure for a school-based threat assessment program, starting with the 2020-21 school year. | RCW 28A.320.123 | Multidisciplinary and multiagency, including special education teachers and educational staff associates | Regional safety centers train on the model policy | The state monitors district programs at least every five years |
| West Virginia | Guidance only: the state education department advises schools, "WHEN IN DOUBT," to treat an expression as a threat and conduct a threat determination. | WVDE Student Threat Assessments (guidance) | — | — | — |
| Wisconsin | Guidance only: the state Justice Department's Office of School Safety offers training, protocols, consultation and resources on school threat assessment and management. | Wisconsin DOJ Office of School Safety (guidance) | — | Free full-day team training (state office) | — |
| Wyoming | Guidance only: the state education department offered all districts free digital threat assessment training in 2026, and its web page offers a way to confidentially report concerning student behavior. | WDE guidance | — | Free digital threat assessment sessions | — |
"No law found" means we searched the official legislature, code and state agency sites and found no law or rule on school threat assessment teams. It is not proof that none exists.
Who must be on a school threat assessment team?
Many laws list areas of expertise rather than job titles. Florida, North Carolina and Virginia name counseling, instruction, school administration and law enforcement. Michigan requires a school administrator, a mental health professional, and a school resource officer or other law enforcement official, and Illinois requires at least one law enforcement official. Some laws add special education. Washington's team must include special education teachers, and Pennsylvania's must include special education expertise. Texas has two versions of the same subsection, both passed in 2025, and each adds someone with disability knowledge when a special education student is assessed. Others name no roles. Arkansas points to best practices for team makeup, Montana says only "key staff," and South Carolina's budget proviso does not say who sits on the team.
What training do team members need?
Virginia requires initial training for new members and a refresher every three years, and Ohio requires approved training on appointment and every three years after. Florida requires all team members to be trained on the state model, and members trained in an earlier school year to take a yearly refresher. Vermont requires best-practice and bias training at least once a year, and New Jersey's training must cover adverse childhood experiences, childhood trauma, cultural competency and implicit bias. Arkansas requires basic and advanced training for all members. Not every team law requires training. Michigan's law has the state police provide material and train a school's staff on request, and Illinois's team law sets no training requirement.
What triggers an assessment, and what has to happen after?
In Texas, teams assess individuals who "make threats of violence or exhibit harmful, threatening, or violent behavior," and must notify the parent before assessing a student and share findings after. In Florida and Virginia, when a team preliminarily finds that a student poses a threat of violence or physical harm, it must immediately report to the superintendent, who must immediately try to reach the parent. Washington requires the program to be "prompted by the behavior of a student" and bars suspension or expulsion based merely on a threat assessment referral. Michigan teams write a plan for a student showing concerning behavior, and that plan must consider supportive measures in addition to any punishment. In Tennessee, a student who threatens mass violence at school or a school activity must submit to a threat assessment.
Are threat assessment records confidential, and do they follow a student?
Several states keep team records out of public records requests, including Illinois, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Texas requires threat assessment materials to stay in the student's school record until the student's 24th birthday, and to be part of the records provided when a student who last attended a Texas public school enrolls in a public school. In Florida, a threat assessment report is an education record, and records sent to a new school within 5 school days must include any such report. Michigan's team law has no provisions on team records, sharing or transfer.
Do schools have to report threat assessments to the state?
In some states, yes. Texas teams report to TEA for each campus, including the number and types of threats. North Carolina teams report data to the Center for Safer Schools, including the number of assessments each year and demographic information on those assessed. Virginia teams report through the state center's case management tool, and Vermont schools report yearly on the completion and outcomes of all assessments. Michigan's and Rhode Island's team laws set no duty to report to the state.
Do these laws cover charter and private schools?
Charter schools are named or covered in many states, including Florida, New Jersey, Arkansas, North Carolina and Texas, and Ohio's law reaches community and STEM schools. Michigan's law also names nonpublic schools, and Iowa lets accredited nonpublic schools set up a team if they choose. Florida's and New Jersey's team duties do not name private schools, though Georgia's state agencies must offer private schools similar threat assessment training.
State guides
Arkansas · Florida · Georgia · Illinois · Indiana · Kentucky · Maryland · Michigan · Montana · Nevada · New Jersey · North Carolina · Ohio · Pennsylvania · Rhode Island · South Carolina · Tennessee · Texas · Utah · Vermont · Virginia · Washington
How can QuickSecure help?
QuickSecure doesn't run threat assessments; your team does. Its anonymous tip line helps concerns reach that team.
Each school gets its own anonymous tip line page, and tips stay anonymous unless the tipster chooses to share contact details.
QuickSecure gives each tip a risk score, and the most urgent reach administrators right away.
Administrators can escalate a tip and discuss it with other staff, and every step is logged, so you have a record of what was reported and what was done.
This is not a statement that any product satisfies a state's law; read your state's page and ask your counsel.