DOI: 10.3886/icpsr37658.v1
title: Student Threat Assessment as a Safe and Supportive Prevention Strategy, Virginia, 2013-2019
title: Version 1

description: Student threat assessment is intended to maintain school safety by resolving student conflicts or problems before they escalate into violence, with the secondary benefit of reducing reliance on safety practices that have deleterious consequences (e.g., zero-tolerance discipline). In 2013, Virginia legislation mandated the establishment of threat assessment teams in all K-12 public schools by July 1, 2014. The major goals of the project were to: determine how student threat assessment is implemented in statewide practice in Virginia schools; determine what student and school outcomes are associated with student threat assessment; and determine whether training/technical assistance can improve student threat assessment. To address Goal 1, the research team collected data across five years from the annual school safety audit survey that included information on how often threat assessments occur, characteristics of the threat cases, such as student demographics and how the threats were assessed, and the outcomes of the threat. The team also collected data on threat assessment training needs. To address Goal 2, the team correlated threat assessment data collected under Goal 1 with data on student and school outcomes obtained from the annual secondary school climate survey and statewide disciplinary records for school suspensions. To address Goal 3, the team developed, tested, and updated four separate online educational programs tailored to students, parents, staff, and threat assessment teams. These online programs have been implemented by schools in Virginia, 28 other states, and Canada. This collection contains school safety audit data from 2013 to 2018 and all-time data for the online educational program assessments through 2019. Case-level data, high-risk case level data, and school climate data are available for limited years. Qualitative data on training needs will be made available in a future update.
description: The overall purpose of the study was to advance the practice of student threat assessment as a school safety strategy.
description: <b>School safety audit survey. </b>The school safety audit survey is legally mandated by the state of Virginia. Annually, each school reports information on their threat assessment team and cases conducted. <b>Case-level data. </b>As part of the audit, each school provided data on up to five student cases referred for a threat assessment evaluation. During the 2014-2015 school year, comprehensive case data were collected. For analysis, these data were merged with student discipline and demographic data. For the 2016-17 and 2017-2018 school years, schools provided detailed case information on threats classified at the highest threat level (imminent/high risk, very serious substantive) in which the student attempted to carry out the threat. <b>School climate survey data. </b>Data from the Virginia Secondary School Climate Survey were used to analyze associations between threat assessment and school climate. Middle school students and staff completed the survey in 2017. <b>Online educational program assessment. </b>The research team collaborated with 3C Institute to develop online educational programs on threat assessment tailored to parents, school staff, students, and threat assessment team members. The programs address topics such as relative safety of schools, purpose of school threat assessment, how a threat assessment team functions, and when and how to report threats. The team was unable to recruit enough schools to conduct a randomized controlled trial, so they modified the study protocol to a quasi-experiment with pre- and post-assessments. Data from all available schools that completed the online training programs and the assessments were used. <b>Training needs data. </b>Qualitative input was collected through semi-structured telephone surveys with a sample of stakeholders (i.e., school administrators and threat assessment team members) asking participants to identify implementation challenges and training needs.
description: <b>Longitudinal school safety audit data (DS1). </b>Overall information on threats includes number of threat assessments cases completed; number of threats made based on individual (e.g., student, staff, parent, non-student), nature of threat, and risk classification level; security strategies in place; number of security personnel employed; available reporting methods; and training/informational processes. <b>Case-level data (DS2). </b>For each case detailed, the following information is provided. Background information on student(s) involved in making the threat: gender, race/ethnicity, grade level, if the student receives special education services, history of discipline or violent behavior Threat information: nature of the threat, intended target, mode of threat communication, response to threat, classification level (transient to imminent threat), if threat was averted Outcomes: disciplinary actions taken, response to the victim, any changes made to school placement School-level demographic items include percentages of students in school by race and gender. High-level case data (DS3) is limited to descriptions of the threatened act, any preventative steps taken, changes to school placement, and whether the threat was to self or others. <b>School climate data (DS4). </b>Items are calculated averages and represent themes of student engagement, disciplinary structure, respect for students and staff, academic expectations, moral values, peer support, and bullying/victimization. Student demographics include gender, race/ethnicity, and grade level. Staff demographics are limited to race/ethnicity and years worked in schools. School-level items include percentage and totals of students by race/ethnicity, gender, receipt of free/reduced lunch, and overall enrollment. <b>Online educational program assessment (DS5-DS8). </b>Pre- and post-assessment items consist of knowledge testing on threat assessments, knowledge testing on school disciplinary practices, familiarity with threat assessments, and value of the program.
description: Not applicable.
description: Response Rates: Not available.
description: Presence of Common Scales: Student Engagement Scale Disciplinary Structure Scale Bullying by Teachers Scale Student Support Scale - Respect for Students and Willingness to Seek Help subscales Academic Expectations Scale Peer Support Scale Prevalence of Teasing and Bullying Scale Student Perception of Teacher Bullying Aggressive Attitudes Scale Victim Experiences Scale Bullying Experiences Scale
description: Datasets: DS0: Study-Level Files DS1: School Safety Audit: Longitudinal School-Level Data, 2013-2018 DS2: School Safety Audit: Case-Level Data, 2014-2015 DS3: School Safety Audit: High-Level Threat Case Data, 2016-2018 DS4: School Safety Audit: School Climate Survey Data, 2017 DS5: Online Program Assessment: Parent Survey Data DS6: Online Program Assessment: Staff Survey Data DS7: Online Program Assessment: Student Survey Data DS8: Online Program Assessment: Threat Assessment Team Survey Data
description: Students, parents, and staff of Virginia public K-12 schools. Smallest Geographic Unit: State
description: record abstracts; web-based surveyPlease refer to the final technical report under "Data-related Publications" for online program transcripts (Appendix B) and pre/post assessment questionnaires (Appendix C).