Student Threat Assessment Dewey Cornell, Ph.D.

November 17, 2017

Do not copy without permission434-924-8929 1

Statewide Implementation of Student Threat Assessment in

Virginia Public Schools

Dewey Cornell, Jennifer Maeng, Francis Huang (U Missouri), Timothy Konold, Anna Grace Burnette, Shelby Stohlman, Yuane Jia, Pooja

Datta, Marisa Malone

Curry School of EducationUniversity of Virginia

Email: youthvio@virginia.eduWebsite: youthviolence.edschool.virginia.edu

Student Threat Assessment as a Safe and Supportive Prevention Strategy

4-year project (2015-2018)

This project supported by Grant #NIJ 2014-CK-BX-0004 awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication/program/exhibition are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Justice.

Trauma of School Violence

School shootings are so traumatic that they skew perceptions of school safety and stimulate over-reactions to student misbehavior.

Zero Tolerance SuspensionsAfter the Newtown Shootings

6 year old pointed finger and said “pow!”

http://www.sott.net/article/255552-6-year-old-suspended-for-pretend-gunshot

The Expansion of Zero Tolerance

From No Guns to• No Toy Guns• No Nail clippers• No Plastic utensils• No Finger-pointing• No Jokes• No Drawings• No Rubber band

shootingNo Accidental violations

Student Threat Assessment Dewey Cornell, Ph.D.

November 17, 2017

Do not copy without permission434-924-8929 2

Suspension PracticesSuspension is a practice that has more negative than positive effects on students:

• Fall behind in their classes• Feel alienated and rejected• Continue to misbehave

and be suspended• Drop out of school• Juvenile court involvement

The school-to-prison pipeline

Avoid the error of over-reaction

Avoid the error of under-reaction What is Threat Assessment?

Threat assessment is a problem-solving approach to violence prevention that involves assessment and intervention with students who have threatened violence in some way.

Threat Assessment Takes a Problem-Solving Approach

The team takes action based on the seriousness of the threat.• What protective action, if any, is needed?

• What problem stimulated the threat?

• What can be done to resolve that problem?

Potential Advantages of Threat Assessment

• Avoid over-reaction and stigma of identifying student as dangerous.

• Avoid under-reaction to serious cases.

• Fair, systematic process that minimizes bias in discipline.

• Improve school climate by resolving conflicts before they escalate.

Student Threat Assessment Dewey Cornell, Ph.D.

November 17, 2017

Do not copy without permission434-924-8929 3

• Developed 2001 at University of Virginia

• School-based teams gather information

• Follow decision-tree to determine whether threat is transient or substantive

• Attempt to resolve the problem underlying the threat

• Take protective action if needed

Available from Amazon.com

Research on Threat Assessment

1. Cornell, D., Sheras, P. Kaplan, S., McConville, D., Douglass, J., Elkon, A., McKnight, L., Branson, C., & Cole, J. (2004). Guidelines for student threat assessment: Field-test findings. School Psychology Review, 33, 527-546.

2. Kaplan, S., & Cornell, D. (2005). Threats of violence by students in special education. Behavioral Disorders, 31, 107-119.

3. Strong, K., & Cornell, D. (2008). Student threat assessment in Memphis City Schools: A descriptive report. Behavioral Disorders, 34, 42-54.

4. Allen, K., Cornell, D., Lorek, E., & Sheras, P. (2008). Response of school personnel to student threat assessment training. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 19, 319-332.

5. Cornell, D., Sheras, P., Gregory, A., & Fan, X. (2009). A retrospective study of school safety conditions in high schools using the Virginia Threat Assessment Guidelines versus alternative approaches. School Psychology Quarterly, 24, 119-129.

6. Cornell, D., Gregory, A., & Fan, X. (2011). Reductions in long-term suspensions following adoption of the Virginia Student Threat Assessment Guidelines. Bulletin of the National Association of Secondary School Principals, 95, 175-194.

7. Cornell, D., Allen, K., & Fan, X. (2012). A randomized controlled study of the Virginia Student Threat Assessment Guidelines in grades K-12. School Psychology Review, 41, 100-115.

8. Cornell, D. & Lovegrove, P. (2015). Student threat assessment as a method for reducing student suspensions. In D. Losen (Ed.). Closing the School Discipline Gap: Research for Policymakers. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

9. Nekvasil, E., Cornell, D. (2015). Student threat assessment associated with positive school climate in middle schools. Journal of Threat Assessment and Management 2, 98-113. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/tam0000038

10. Burnette, A. G., Datta, P., & Cornell, D. (in press). The distinction between transient and substantive student threats. Journal of Threat Assessment and Management.

2013 Governor’s School and Campus Safety Task Force

40 members, Led by Secretaries of Public Safety, Education, and

Health and Human Resources

http://dcjs.virginia.gov/vcss/SchoolCampusSafetyTaskForce/

What is the “Virginia model”?

Threat assessment model developed in 2001 at UVa under direction of Dr. Dewey Cornell, recognized by NREPP as an evidence-based practice. Virginia Student Threat Assessment Guidelines (VSTAG)

Model Policies developed in 2014 by VA Dept. of Criminal Justice Services (with input from Dr. Cornell); schools can use any model that conforms to its general guidelines, including the UVa VSTAG model.

Virginia Student Threat Assessment Project

1. Statewide inventory of practices2. Assessment of outcomes by race3. Identify training needs4. Improve training effectiveness

Student Threat Assessment Dewey Cornell, Ph.D.

November 17, 2017

Do not copy without permission434-924-8929 4

Selected sample of 1,865 threat assessment cases reported by 785 Virginia public schools during the 2014-15 school year

Percentages for 1,865 threat cases from 785 schools. One case can involve more than one type of threat.

33

23

21

18

13

5

1

1

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Unspecified

Kill

Use weapon

Hit, beat

Stab, cut

Bomb

Arson

Sexual

Types of Threats  (%)n= 1,865

Percentages for 1,865 threat cases from 785 schools. One case can involve more than one victim.

68

15

13

7

4

0 20 40 60

Student

Teacher

Whole school/group

Staff/administrator

Other

Intended Victim (%)n = 1,865 

Characteristics of Threats Judged to be Serious

(30.5%)

Characteristic of Threat Odds RatioElementary 0.57***Special Education 1.27*Homicide threat 1.40**Battery threat 1.61**Administrator threatened 3.55***Weapon in possession 4.41****p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001

97.7

2.6

0.7

0 20 40 60 80 100

Threat NotAttempted

Attempted andAverted

Threat CarriedOut

Threat Outcomes (%)n = 1,865 cases

Characteristics of Threats That Were Attempted

(3.3%)

Characteristic of Threat Odds RatioElementary nsSpecial Education nsHomicide threat 0.22*Battery threat 3.33***Administrator threatened nsWeapon in possession nsJudged to be serious 12.48****p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001

Student Threat Assessment Dewey Cornell, Ph.D.

November 17, 2017

Do not copy without permission434-924-8929 5

Percentages for 1,865 threat cases from 785 schools. One case can involve more than one outcome.

53

44

16

5

3

3

1

1

0 10 20 30 40 50

Reprimand

Suspension out of school

Suspension in school

Expulsion reduced to…

Detention after school

Placed in juvenile detention

Arrested

Expelled

Disciplinary Outcome (%)n= 1,865

84

8

5

1

2

0 20 40 60 80

No Change

Transferred to alternativeschool

Homebound instruction

Transferred to regularschool

Other

School Placement Outcome (%)n = 1,865 cases 

No statistically significant differences for White vs Black or White vs Hispanic students

45

15

0.5 0.7 0.8

46

18

1.4 1.2 0.7

43

16

1.5 0.8 00

10

20

30

40

50

Suspension Change inPlacement

Expulsion Arrest Incarceration

Percent of Studen

ts

No Racial Differences in Disciplinary Outcomes for Students Receiving a Threat Assessment

n = 785 schools

White

Black

Hispanic

Virginia Student Threat Assessment Project

• Analyses show some positive results for statewide implementation of student threat assessment.

• Schools are making differentiated assessments, recognizing that most cases are not serious.

• Most students are able to return to school, with few arrests or expulsions.

• Similar outcomes for Black, Hispanic, and White students.

Virginia Student Threat Assessment Project

Variation across schools in….1. Threshold for doing an

assessment2. Criteria for a serious threat3. Threat response

Virginia Student Threat Assessment Project

Educational programs to:1. Increase school understanding of

threat assessment2. Increase serious threat reporting

Student Threat Assessment Dewey Cornell, Ph.D.

November 17, 2017

Do not copy without permission434-924-8929 6

School Safety Online Educational Program

• Students (15 min)• Parents (25 min)• Teachers/staff (25 min)• Team members (25, 20, 30 min)Programs include anonymous survey questions to measure learning. Answers will be used for research purposes. For more information, contact Dr. Jennifer Maeng at jlc7d@virginia.edu

Excerpt from online program for students

.

97

92

97

96

98

78

66

40

67

55

56

45

0 20 40 60 80 100

Threat assessment includesintervention with students whose

behavior may pose a threat to others

A threat assessment team willautomatically suspend a student for

making a threat. (False)

Threat assessment teams investigatethreatening statements or actions by

students

Schools have a relatively high rate ofshootings compared to other locations

in the U.S.

All Virginia public schools are requiredto have a threat assessment team

Overall percent correct

Percent Answering Correctly

Staff Knowledge of Threat Assessment(N = 283)Pretest

Posttest

91

85

93

72

82

82

82

66

69

22

32

54

0 20 40 60 80 100

If another student talked about killingsomeone, I would tell one of the teachers or

staff at school.

A threat assessment team may trycounseling to prevent two students from

fighting.

Threat assessment teams investigatethreatening statements or behaviors by

students.

A threat assessment team will automaticallysuspend a student for making a threat.

(False)

My school has a threat assessment team.

Overall scores

Percent Answering Correctly

Student Response to Program(N = 2,355)

Pretest

Posttest

Student Threat Assessment Dewey Cornell, Ph.D.

November 17, 2017

Do not copy without permission434-924-8929 7

Next Steps

• Examine online training effects on threat reporting and school climate

• Compare differences in threat team outcomes

• Disseminate best practices

2017-18 Research Team

Rear: Patrick Meyer, Jennifer Maeng, Yuane Jia, Tim KonoldMiddle: Francis Huang, Anna Grace Burnette, Dewey Cornell, Brittany Crowley

Front: Whitney Hyatt, Shelby Stohlman, Katrina Debnam, Marisa Malone

http://youthviolence.edschool.virginia.edu