Washington school threat assessment law

Do Washington schools have to have threat assessment programs?

Yes, for school districts. By the start of the 2020-21 school year, each school district "shall adopt a policy and procedure to establish a school-based threat assessment program." The duty is placed on each school district; the provision sets no duty for private schools. The program must convene a multidisciplinary, multiagency team that includes special education teachers and practicing educational staff associates. State law defines school-based threat assessment as the formal process, set up by a district, of evaluating a student's threatening or potentially threatening behavior. OSPI (the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction) says all local education agencies must have threat assessment programs and teams in place.

What process must districts follow?

District policies must be consistent with the state model policy and procedure. The Washington State School Directors' Association (WSSDA), working with OSPI, must develop that model, and it must be posted on the state school safety center website. OSPI's fidelity guide (guidance, not law) says districts may adopt the WSSDA model policy or an equivalent. The same guide says OSPI and all nine ESDs (educational service districts, the regional support agencies) adopted the Salem-Keizer Cascade Threat Assessment Model to meet the statute; the statute itself names no model. The model policy posted by OSPI tells the superintendent to set up and train one or more multidisciplinary, multiagency teams to serve district schools. The fidelity guide recommends holding an assessment within 24 to 48 hours of the incident and no later than 72 hours. This is a recommendation, not law.

What starts an assessment?

The program must be prompted by a student's behavior, not by demographic or personal characteristics. The team identifies and assesses student behavior that is threatening, or potentially threatening, to the student, other students, staff, school visitors or school property.

Who is on the team?

By statute, the team must include special education teachers and practicing educational staff associates. The model policy says the team might include a law enforcement member, such as a school resource officer. Under the model policy, a threat by or toward a student receiving special education services requires a special education teacher on the team.

What training is available?

Regional school safety centers provide training and technical assistance on using the model policy and procedure. Model Procedure 3225P says all team members are trained to triage cases.

What must happen after an assessment?

Depending on the level of concern, the team develops and carries out intervention strategies to manage the student's behavior without excluding the student from school. For a student with a disability, those strategies must align with the student's IEP or Section 504 plan. The program must prohibit suspension or expulsion based merely on a threat assessment referral or performance. By September 1, 2020, each district board had to adopt a policy on notifying the student or school employee who is the subject of a threat of violence or harm. Model Procedure 3225P says the administrator or team notifies law enforcement when someone appears to pose an imminent threat of serious violence. It also says the superintendent or designee immediately tries to notify the parent once a student is found to pose a threat.

What happens to threat assessment records?

Under the model policy, the district gives the team access to education records as FERPA (federal student privacy law) specifies, and team members may not pass on records obtained through the team except as FERPA permits. When a student enrolls from another district, the enrolling school must request the student's permanent record, including disciplinary records and any history of violent behavior; this general rule is not specific to threat assessment records. The sending school must transmit the requested information within two school days and send the records as soon as possible. OSPI's 2024 report to the Legislature says that, without state guidance on storing threat assessment documents, they are not consistently tracked in student information systems or shared with a receiving district when a student transfers.

What must be reported to the state?

The program must create guidelines for each team to collect, report and review quantitative data on its activities. OSPI must monitor district programs at least once every five years, subject to money appropriated for that purpose. OSPI must consult stakeholders to set data collection and submission requirements for districts, and may adopt rules to carry out that section. OSPI's 2024 report says neither statute requires student-level data on completed threat assessments. In OSPI's first monitoring survey (March 2022 to February 2023), 81% of districts reported having a threat assessment program in place, and a second round was in early planning. OSPI's fidelity guide (guidance) says each team's Threat Assessment Data Sheet goes to the district's ESD for regional tracking, and ESDs send regional data to OSPI.

Is there state funding?

Subject to appropriation, each ESD must set up a regional school safety center. Regional centers build partnerships with behavioral health providers, law enforcement, emergency responders, juvenile justice and child welfare agencies to carry out threat assessment programs. The 2025-27 operating budget funds staff at the nine ESD regional safety centers to help districts with work that includes developing threat assessment teams, within the general ESD appropriation and with no separate dollar amount. For fiscal years 2026 and 2027, each regional safety center is staffed at 3 full-time-equivalent certificated staff. The 2026 supplemental budget left that ESD section unchanged. OSPI's statewide appropriation includes support and coordination for the regional threat assessment network, within a combined amount shared with other programs. OSPI's 2024 report says level II (community) threat assessment is available to districts from ESDs for a fee.

When did the law pass, and what bills are pending?

The duties were created by 2SHB 1216, Chapter 333, Laws of 2019, which took effect July 28, 2019. SB 6285 (2026) would change the district duty into encouragement only. It has had no action since its committee referral on January 22, 2026. HB 1637 (2025-26) would have the Legislature's audit committee (JLARC) audit district compliance with the threat assessment statute. It has had no action since it was kept in House Education on January 12, 2026.