2023 Tennessee Code › Title 49 - EDUCATION (§§ 49-1-NEW — 49-50-1703) › Chapter 6 - ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION (§§ 49-6-101 — 49-6-8106) › Part 27 - THREAT ASSESSMENT (§§ 49-6-2701 — 49-6-2703) › Section 49-6-2701 - Threat assessment team

(a)
Each LEA shall adopt a policy to establish a threat assessment team within the LEA. The purpose of the threat assessment team is to develop comprehensive intervention-based approaches to prevent violence, manage reports of potential threats, and create a system that fosters a safe, supportive, and effective school environment.
(b)
The threat assessment team must include LEA personnel and law enforcement personnel. An LEA's threat assessment team may include juvenile services personnel, a representative of the local district attorney's office, a representative of the department of children's services, and mental health service providers.
(c)
A threat assessment team shall:
(1)
Obtain training from local law enforcement or mental health service providers on how to assess individuals exhibiting threatening or disruptive behavior and develop interventions for individuals exhibiting such behavior;
(2)
Conduct threat assessments based on dangerous or threatening behavior of individuals in the school, home, or community setting;
(3)
Provide guidance to students, faculty, staff, and others in the LEA on how to recognize, address, and report threatening or dangerous behavior;
(4)
Establish procedures that outline the circumstances in which LEA personnel are required to report threatening or dangerous behavior;
(5)
Establish procedures for students, faculty, and community members to anonymously report threatening or dangerous behavior and specify to whom the behavior should be reported;
(6)
Provide guidance and best practices for the intervention and prevention of violence;
(7)
Establish procedures for the:
(A)
Assessment of individuals exhibiting behavior that may present a threat to the health or safety of the individual or others;
(B)
Development of appropriate means of intervention, diversion, and de-escalation of threats; and
(C)
Development of appropriate courses of actions that should be taken in the event threatening or dangerous behavior is reported, including, but not limited to, referrals to community services or healthcare providers, notification of parents or guardians, if appropriate, or notification of law enforcement and emergency medical services;
(8)
Refer individuals to support services;
(9)
Provide post-incident assessments and evaluate the effectiveness and response of the LEA to incidents; and
(10)
Coordinate with state agencies providing support services and technical assistance to local threat assessment teams.
(d)
The threat assessment team shall document all behaviors and incidents deemed to pose a risk to school safety or that result in intervention and shall provide the information to the LEA. All information shall be documented in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (
20 U.S.C. 1232g
), §
10-7-504
, and all other relevant state and federal privacy laws. The LEA must consider the information when reviewing and developing a building-level school safety plan.
(e)
The threat assessment team shall report threat assessment team activities to the local board of education, the director of schools, the department of safety, the Tennessee school safety center, and the members of the state-level safety team established pursuant to §
49-6-802(a)
on a regular basis. The report must include quantitative data on threat assessment team activities, including post-incident assessments, and must provide information on the effectiveness of the team's response to incidents deemed to pose a risk to school safety. The report must comply with the FERPA, §
10-7-504
, and all other relevant state and federal privacy laws.
(f)
Documents produced or obtained pursuant to this section are not open for public inspection. Threat assessment team meetings do not constitute an open meeting as defined by §
8-44-102
.
Amended by 2023 Tenn. Acts, ch. 367, s 15, eff. 7/1/2023.
Amended by 2023 Tenn. Acts, ch. 367, s 14, eff. 7/1/2023.
Amended by 2023 Tenn. Acts, ch. 367, s 13, eff. 7/1/2023.
Acts 2019, ch. 394, § 1.