Elementary, Middle, and High School Teams to Attend
We are offering the HB 123 REQUIRED Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG) on February 18th from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
The evidence-based program provides instruction in the following:
- Identifying behaviors, signs, and threats that may lead to a violent act;
- Determining the seriousness of a threat; and
- Developing intervention plans that protect the potential victims and address the underlying problem or conflict that initiated the behavior and assessment of plan results.
School Threat Assessment Team Responsibilities
Identify the types of threatening behavior that may represent a physical threat to a school community
Identify individuals to whom threatening behavior should be reported and the steps to be taken by those individuals
Establish threat assessment guidelines including identification, evaluation of seriousness of threat or danger, intervention to reduce potential violence, and follow-up to assess intervention results
Establish guidelines for coordinating with local law enforcement agencies and reports collected through the district’s chosen tip-line identify a point of contact with each agency
Conform with all specifications for a school’s emergency management plan
Who: Each Public school Grades 6-12 is REQUIRED per HB 123; Elementary Recommended NOT REQUIRED.
Ohio law states that upon appointment and once every three years thereafter, each team member must complete an approved threat assessment training program from the list maintained by the Ohio Department of Public Safety.
Each district building must include proof of completion of an approved training program, by each team member in the building's emergency management plan submission to the Director of Public Safety.
Each team must be multidisciplinary, when possible, and may include school administrators, mental health professionals, school resource officers, and other necessary personnel.
The Director of Public Safety will establish an administrative rule in late 2021 describing which documentation is required to meet this requirement and how it can be submitted in the school safety plan application.
Who should attend?
The Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG) are designed for multidisciplinary school-based teams that receive and respond to reported threats of violence in their school buildings. The district multidisciplinary team should include the following:
District Team: two or three personnel responsible for school safety;
Elementary School Teams: three people, including the principal, a school mental health professional (counselor, social worker, or psychologist), and one other person (teacher or nurse);
Middle and High School Teams: five people, including the principal, assistant principal, a school mental health professional, such as a counselor, social worker or psychologist, school resources officer, if applicable, and one or two other people (teacher or nurse).
Each school’s threat assessment team should participate in the same training, if possible. Participating as school teams allows for each school to brainstorm and coordinate its threat assessment framework together.
Make sure to bring your lunch as there will be a 30-minute lunch allotted and a few breaks. This is a 6.5-hour training.