Florida school threat assessment law

Do Florida schools have to have threat management teams?

Yes, for public districts and charter schools: each district school board and charter school governing board must establish a threat management team at each school. The team's duties include coordinating resources and assessing and intervening with students whose behavior may pose a threat to the school, school staff or students. That statutory duty falls on district school boards and charter school governing boards; the provision does not name private schools. Under State Board Rule 6A-1.0019, each school must have a School Based Threat Management Team made up of four members. Each superintendent must also designate a District Threat Management Team, which takes referrals from school teams and supports them, including charter schools. Each superintendent must designate a Primary District Threat Management Coordinator to oversee threat management at all public K-12 schools, including charter schools. Each school district and charter school governing board must adopt policies for setting up teams and completing threat assessments. Charter schools are responsible for setting up school teams and doing threat assessments under the rule.

Which schools does the rule cover?

The rule covers public K-12 schools, including charter schools, that have a Master School Identification Number. It also covers Florida Virtual School, the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind, and lab schools. It excludes instruction in jails, prisons, Department of Juvenile Justice facilities, hospitals and homebound settings, schools that offer only pre-K or adult education, and technical centers.

Who must be on the team?

A team must include members with expertise in counseling, instruction, school administration and law enforcement. At least one team member must personally know the student being assessed. The principal, or the school's equivalent head, appoints the school team's members. The counseling member must be a school-based mental health services provider who can access student mental health records. A school guardian or school security guard may not serve as the team's law enforcement member.

What process must teams follow?

All teams must use the statewide behavioral threat management operational process and the Florida-specific behavioral threat assessment instrument. Every school district, school, charter school governing board and charter school must use both. The instrument must assess the student, the family, and school and social dynamics. The state model, the Florida Model, consists of the Florida Threat Management Manual and the Florida Harm Prevention and Threat Management Instrument. The manual is incorporated by reference into the rule, which makes its requirements part of the rule. Under the Florida Model, each concern is rated unfounded, or low, medium or high. School teams' core members must meet as often as needed, and at least monthly.

What starts an assessment, and how fast must teams act?

School staff must immediately report any behavior or communication that may be a threat or safety concern to the chair of the school's team. Every reported threat or concerning behavior must be documented in the Florida Model Instrument, including reports found to be unfounded. When the chair refers a case to the school team, the team must meet no later than the next school day. The principal, and then the district coordinator, must each review the school team's decision within two school days. High-concern cases must be referred to the district team, which must meet on the case within two school days.

What must happen after an assessment?

When a team preliminarily finds that a student poses a threat of violence or physical harm, it must immediately report to the superintendent or a designee. The superintendent, the charter school administrator, or a designee must then immediately try to notify the student's parent or guardian. Districts must give parents timely notice of threats under their threat management policies. When a case goes to the school team, reasonable efforts must be made to notify the student's parent or guardian the same day the team sets the interim plan and assigns the final level of concern. If a reported threat names a student target, the chair must try to notify that student's parent by the end of the school day, unless the concern is unfounded. If the final level of concern is high, the school team chair must notify the superintendent so that the parent notice is given. A medium or high level of concern must lead to a final Student Support Management Plan (a written support plan for the student). Once that plan is final, and whenever it is substantively revised, the school team chair or a designee must give a copy to the student of concern. While a student is on a support plan, the school team must meet monthly to review it. If an immediate mental health or substance abuse crisis is suspected, school staff must follow the team's steps to engage behavioral health crisis resources. The team must name who in the school community receives reports of threatening behavior, and guide students and staff on recognizing it.

What training is required?

All school and district team members must be trained on the Florida Model through training provided or approved by the Office of Safe Schools. Members appointed after the school year starts must finish that training within 60 calendar days. Members trained in an earlier year must complete an annual refresher from the Office within the first 60 calendar days of school. The Office of Safe Schools must train all districts, schools and charter schools on the operational process, and train team members on the instrument. By August 1, 2025, and every year after, the Office must give role-based portal training to authorized staff.

What about records and information sharing?

A threat assessment report and its documentation in the state's threat management portal are an education record. Threat assessments and threat management records are education records under FERPA, the federal student privacy law. School and district teams must use the Florida Model Instrument in the Florida Safety and Threat Management Portal to document and manage all reports. By August 1, 2025, the Office of Safe Schools had to build and run that portal. Parents may access their child's records in the portal under State Board rule, but may not access the portal itself. Accessing, using or releasing a portal record for a purpose the law does not allow is a noncriminal infraction with a fine of up to $2,000. After a preliminary threat finding, authorized team members may obtain criminal history record information. Listed agencies, including school districts and charter schools, may share otherwise confidential records when reasonably necessary for services or safety. Since 2026, that list includes state universities and Florida College System institutions. When a student changes schools, the team must make sure intervention services stay in place until the receiving school's team decides on them. When a student transfers, records must move within 5 school days and include any threat assessment report. If a student with threat assessment records enrolls in a Florida College System institution or state university, those records must be sent there.

Do districts report to the state?

Each district school board must establish a threat management coordinator, who reports data to the Office of Safe Schools. Each district coordinator must report by July 1 each year that the portal data are accurate. District coordinator contact information must be reported to the Office every year by August 1. By August 1 each year, the Office evaluates each district's and charter governing board's use of the process, instrument and portal.

Is there funding?

The Safe Schools Allocation helps districts meet the school safety laws in ss. 1006.07-1006.12, which include the team duty. The 2026-27 state budget sets that allocation at $290 million: $250,000 to each district, with the rest allocated by formula. The 2026-27 budget gives $5 million in recurring funds for district threat management coordinators, $55,000 to $115,000 per district depending on size. It also provides $4 million in recurring funds for the portal's statewide information-sharing system.

What changed recently?

Chapter 2026-80 (CS/CS/HB 757), approved by the Governor on May 15, 2026, amended the records-sharing part of the team law. It also added the rule sending threat assessment records on to Florida colleges and universities. The same act requires public colleges and universities to set up threat management teams, which is outside K-12. Chapter 2025-58 amended the statewide process, instrument and portal provisions; its text includes the August 1, 2025 portal deadline. Rule 6A-1.0019 was created in 2023 and last amended effective May 21, 2026.