This feature article from the December 2019 issue of TECHBeat discusses the legislative background for and the features of the Maryland Center for School Safety's model threat assessment policy.
In March 2018, Maryland's General Assembly passed a wide-ranging school safety package that included the requirement that all public-school systems implement behavioral threat assessment teams; however, the state's public schools were not left to do this without guidance. The Maryland School Safety Subcabinet created a model policy to provide guidance. A multidisciplinary group was created to develop the policy. It obtained information and input from various sources, including the U.S. Secret Service, the Virginia Center for School and Campus Safety, and the FBI. Existing research and recognized standards of practice regarding threat assessment and management in school and workplace settings were examined. The Maryland model policy drew on Virginia's policy, which has been extensively tested and recognized as a best practice model. Maryland also used other nationwide policies, procedures, and best practices to inform the development of its model policy. The policy will be revised as new information is received, lessons are learned, and new research on threat assessments becomes available. This article provides online access to Maryland's model threat assessment policy, as well as Virginia's threat assessment model.