Behavioral Threat Assessment in Nontraditional Schools

Research on behavioral threat assessment and management (BTAM) has focused on traditional K-12 public schools, often excluding nontraditional settings such as alternative, charter, exceptional education, and other specialized schools. This study compared rates of BTAM referrals, threat classifications, support services, and disciplinary outcomes in a statewide sample of 1724 traditional and 407 nontraditional schools. Overall, the findings indicate that BTAM functions similarly in traditional and nontraditional schools, although alternative and exceptional education schools had higher referral rates and more serious threats than other school types. Charter schools were significantly more likely to have a student change in placement.

(Publisher abstract provided.)