Schools aiming to assess, manage student ‘threats’
DAYTON, Ohio, Aug 6, (AP): Schools around the country have been setting up teams to assess threats posed by students who display signs of violence like the former student who compiled a “hit list” years ago in high school and went on to kill nine people in a weekend shooting in Dayton, Ohio. Despite consensus on the approach’s benefits, school officials say they are limited in what they can do by privacy concerns, a lack of resources and limits on what they can communicate once a student leaves school.
The gunman, 24-year-old Connor Betts, was suspended for compiling a “hit list” and a “rape list” during his junior year at Bellbrook High School, former classmates told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity out of concern they might face harassment. Bellbrook-Sugarcreek Schools wouldn’t comment and refused to release information about Betts, citing legal protections for student records.
The goal of screening programs at a growing number of schools is to not only flag and address threats raised by students, but also to track and manage any risk they might pose to themselves and others. Under protocols endorsed by the Secret Service and the US Department of Education, school districts are encouraged to set up a threat assessment team including at least a school administrator, a mental health professional such as a school psychologist, and a school resource officer or another law enforcement representative.
The teams consider concerns raised by other students, school community members and even people commenting anonymously through tip lines in some cases.
At Hilliard City Schools in Ohio, the district uses a network of students trained to spot students who may be inclined to harm themselves or others, based on things they’ve said or posted on social media, Superintendent John Marschhausen said. After Hilliard Davidson High School student John Staley was arrested in 2016 for plotting to attack his school, the district began requiring a mental health evaluation before it allows any student who has exhibited concerning behavior to return to school.
Marschhausen said the district does whatever it can to get students help but said that privacy laws protecting health records can interfere with efforts to keep up the support beyond high school.