Michigan school threat assessment law

Does Michigan require school threat assessment teams?

By October 1, 2026, school district and intermediate school district boards, public school academy (charter) boards and nonpublic school governing bodies must ensure that each school they operate has a behavior threat assessment and management team. The section, MCL 380.1308e, was added by Public Act 272 of 2024 and took effect April 2, 2025.

Who must be on the team?

The listed members are a minimum; the team may include others. The team must include a school administrator, who must make sure the team carries out its duties under the law. It must include a mental health professional, as defined in the state Mental Health Code. It must include a school resource officer or other law enforcement official. An official who is not a school resource officer must come from the local law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the school.

What does the team do?

The law lists the team's duties:

• Define prohibited and concerning behavior, and teach the school community the warning signs that someone may be at risk of harming themselves or others.
• Monitor, assess and look into concerning behavior.
• Tell credible threats apart from threats that are not credible.
• Set up a central reporting mechanism, and teach students, parents, guardians and staff how to report concerning behavior and what is appropriate to report.
• Outline how school staff and law enforcement work together, and set the threshold for when a situation needs law enforcement to step in.

What happens after an assessment?

One team duty is to write a plan to help a student who is engaging in concerning behavior. The plan must consider supportive measures in addition to any punishment. "Supportive measures" means school- and community-based supports that build the student's resiliency and protect the student while addressing safety concerns. MCL 380.1308e does not require parents or guardians to be notified when their child is assessed; its only mention of parents is teaching them how to report concerning behavior. This covers that section only.

What training is required?

The Michigan State Police, working with the Office of School Safety, must develop school safety and security training material and give it to public and nonpublic schools every year. That material must include the U.S. Secret Service Threat Assessment Center's operational guide for school threat assessments, and model forms schools can use when completing a threat assessment. When a public or nonpublic school's governing body asks, the State Police must train that school's employees on how to use the material. MCL 380.1308e does not itself make team members complete any training. This covers that section only. The State Police Office of School Safety runs the Michigan K-12 Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management (Mi-BTAM) program, which gives schools tools to identify, assess and manage threats. According to the State Police, qualified trainers can deliver the basic Mi-BTAM workshop to schools across the state, and schools, districts and intermediate districts must contact and schedule the trainer themselves. The Office of School Safety has run Mi-BTAM training around the state for school threat assessment teams in public, charter and private K-12 schools.

What about records and state reporting?

MCL 380.1308e has no provisions on threat assessment records, confidentiality, information sharing or transferring records. This covers that section only. It has no duty to report threat assessments or team data to the state. This covers that section only.

How can schools pay for it?

Section 31aa of the State School Aid Act sets aside $300,000,000 for school safety and mental health, for 2026-2027 only. Student safety payments under that section may not exceed $147.06 per pupil. Training school staff on threat assessment is an allowable use of those payments. Section 31aa was most recently amended by 2026 PA 25, effective October 1, 2026.

What recent bills matter?

The team requirement came from HB 5549 of 2024, which the Governor approved on January 22, 2025 as Public Act 272 of 2024. Pending SB 470 (2025) would require the Michigan State Police to create and run a statewide behavioral threat assessment and management program. It was referred to the Senate Committee on Education. As introduced, SB 470 would create a secure portal for sending threat assessment information between partners and school districts when a student transfers to a new school. It would also make the program's information education records, kept, transferred or destroyed under education-records law, and create a statewide way to collect and report threat assessment data from each district. Pending SB 471 (2025) would create a behavioral threat assessment and management program fund. HB 4315 (2025) passed the House 82-24. It would provide training resources to staff who have regular contact with students on mandatory threat reporting protocols. HB 4223 (2025) passed the House 85-21 on May 14, 2025, and was referred to the Senate Committee on Education on May 20, 2025, with no later action as of October 28, 2026. If enacted, HB 4223 would require public schools, and nonpublic schools that do not opt out, to adopt and carry out a school safety and security training plan starting in the 2026-2027 school year. It takes effect only if HB 4222 and HB 4315 are also enacted.