Threat Assessment Team

Protecting the health, safety, and welfare of Windber Area students and staff is a top priority. The District’s Threat Assessment Team is committed to assessing and addressing student behavior that may indicate a threat to the safety of the student, other students, school employees, school facilities, the community, and others.

The Threat Assessment Team is composed of the School Safety and Security Coordinator and individuals with expertise in school health; counseling, school psychology or social work; school administration; law enforcement agency representatives; and members of the Safe2Say crisis team. Each building has its own team who works alongside when needed, the District Core Team to investigate threats made against the school.

If you are aware of a threat to the safety and security of our students or staff, please reach out to the school directly, report the threat to Safe2Say immediately, or call 911.

Defining Threat Assessment

Threat assessment is a fact-based process for the assessment of and intervention with students whose behaviors may indicate a threat to the safety of the student, other students, school employees, school facilities, the community, or others. Source: PA Public School Code, Article XIII-E. Threat Assessment.

Threat assessment is a prevention strategy.

School communities work together to identify student threats before they become acts of violence
Schools have systems in place to process information
Students receive assistance through early identification

Threat Assessment Team Composition

The people on the threat assessment team are appointed by the superintendent in consultation with the school safety and security coordinator. There are some positions that are required in statute to be on the team and there are others that may be assigned based on the needs of the school. The chief school administrator is to appoint a threat assessment team leader. The Principal of each building serves as the threat assessment team leader and each building has its own team that works alongside, when needed, the District Core Team.

In addition, when a student is referred to the threat assessment team, it would the team will consult with or engage the participation of someone in the school building who knows the student well, whether that be a teacher, aide, custodian, secretary, food service worker, coach, or other school staff person.

Required Members (individuals with expertise in:)	Optional Members
School Health	Other school staff or community resources who can assist with the threat assessment process.
Counseling, school psychology	School Security Personnel & Law Enforcement
Special Education	Behavioral Health Professionals
School Administration	SAP Team Members
School Safety and Security Coordinator	& Juvenile Probation Professionals to name a few

Click here to view the District and individual building teams.

Key Responsibilities of the Threat Assessment Team

What Will the Team Do, Once a Report is Made?

Once the team receives a report of a potential threat, it is their job to assess and intervene with the student and determine the level of threat.
If the student’s behavior indicates a threat to the safety of the student, other students, school employees, school facilities, the community, or others, the team will immediately notify the chief school administrator or a designee, the building principal, and the school safety and security coordinator.
The building principal or designee shall then immediately notify the student’s parent or guardian, respond and make appropriate determinations and referrals based on the information available to the team.
Following notification of the parent/guardian, the team may refer the students, as appropriate to the Student Assistance Program, a law enforcement agency, an evaluation under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a student's existing individualized education program (IEP) team established under IDEA and 22 Pa. Code Ch. 14 (relating to special education services and programs), and an existing team established to implement a student's section 504 service agreement established under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and 22 Pa. Code Ch. 15 (relating to protected handicapped students).
A parent or guardian shall provide consent prior to a team referring a student to a behavioral service provider, health care provider, and/or a county agency.

School Staff & Mandated Reporting

School employees shall act immediately to address an imminent threat. Imminent threats and emergencies shall be promptly reported to a law enforcement agency.

School employees and other mandated reporters shall follow the responsibilities regarding reporting suspected child abuse as required by law.

For more information on child abuse recognition and mandated reporting go to:

Department of Education: ACT 126 – Child Abuse Recognition and
Reporting Act, and Department of Human Services: Keep Kids Safe

Nothing shall limit the authority of a school entity to refer a student to the student assistance program without referral by a team, so long as the student's behavior does not indicate a threat to the safety of the student, other students, school employees, school facilities, the community or others.

The goal of this process is to ensure the safety of the school community, and also to ensure that the student presenting the threat receives assistance through a range of strategies already established in the school.

Strategies That Schools Have in Place

Recognizing At-Risk Behaviors

There are observable behaviors that may not be normal and are out of character for most students. These behaviors may lead to acts of violence. If the behaviors are noticed early on and dealt with through the strategies that are in place in the school, then appropriate measures can be taken to assist the student before the violence occurs.

Some observable, at-risk behaviors include:

Unusual social distancing or isolation of individuals from peers and family members
Sullen or depressed behavior from an otherwise friendly and positive person
Out of context outbursts of verbal or physical aggression
Increased levels of agitation, frustration, and anger
Confrontational, accusatory, or blaming behavior
An unusual interest in weapons
Fixation on violence as means of addressing a grievance

Reporting

In January 2019, Pennsylvania initiated the Safe2Say Something Anonymous Reporting System, which is run through the Attorney General’s Office. It is a 24/7 hotline that allows people to submit tips via phone calls, a secure website, or a mobile app.

The reporting system allows people to submit secure and anonymous safety concerns to help identify and intervene
upon at-risk individuals BEFORE they hurt themselves or others. Individuals can do this by reporting observed threats, behaviors, actions, and harassment.

Students and Families Can Use Safe2Say to Report the following:

Assault	Abuse (physical, verbal)	Bullying or regular intimidation
Bragging about an upcoming planned attack	Depression, anxiety, or loss of self-control	Fighting
Gun Violence / Violence	Harassment	Hopelessness, excessive guilt or worthlessness
Reckless behavior	Social isolation or withdrawal	Substance abuse
Suicide threats, cutting, or other self-harm	Theft	Threats
Weapons (use of and/or discussion about)

Find out more information on the Safe2Say Something website. A downloadable APP for mobile devices is available on Google Play and the App Store.

Resources

Positive Behavior Interventions and Support (PBIS) - PBIS is a proactive, multi-tiered approach to discipline that promotes appropriate student behavior and increased learning.
Student Assistance Program - The Pennsylvania Student Assistance Program (SAP) is a systematic team process used to mobilize school resources to remove barriers to learning. The primary goal of the Student Assistance Program is to help students overcome these barriers so that they may achieve, advance, and remain in school.
Multi-Tiered Systems of Support - Pennsylvania’s Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) is a standards-aligned, comprehensive school improvement framework for enhancing academic, behavioral, and social-emotional outcomes for all students.

Student Assistance Team	Mental Health Services Through R.E.A.C.H.
PBIS/MTSS Teams	IEP Team
Addressing Inappropriate Behavior	Setting Reasonable Boundaries
Suspension	Law Enforcement
School Psychologist Services	School Counseling Services