Threat Assessment Compliance Deadlines for School Districts Are Approaching

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Threat Assessment Compliance Deadlines for School Districts Are Approaching

Dec 4, 2019

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105 ILCS 128/45, added by P.A. 101-455, has two requirements with approaching deadlines:

  1. School districts must implement a threat assessment procedure by December 24, 2019. Due to the holiday break, we recommend implementation by December 21, 2019. The threat assessment procedure may be part of a school board policy on targeted school violence prevention or a separate administrative procedure. The procedure must include the creation of a threat assessment team.

  2. School districts must establish a threat assessment team by February 22, 2020. Since the deadline falls on a Saturday, we recommend implementation by February 21, 2020, prior to the weekend. 

    The Act details the individuals that must be a part of the team. 

    The team must include:
    1. An administrator employed by the district or a special education cooperative that serves the district;
    2. A teacher employed by the district or cooperative;
    3. A school counselor employed by the district or cooperative;
    4. A school psychologist employed by the district or cooperative;
    5. A school social worker employed by the district or cooperative; and
    6. At least one law enforcement official.

If a school district is unable to establish a threat assessment team with school district staff and resources, it may utilize a regional behavioral threat assessment and intervention team that includes mental health professionals and representatives from the State, county and local law enforcement agencies. 

The Act does not include specific requirements for the content of the procedures or the specific duties and responsibilities of the threat assessment team. School districts should review existing policies and protocols on emergency and crisis response, and leverage relevant staff expertise to analyze and develop threat assessment procedures. 

If any questions arise regarding these legislative requirements or if assistance is needed, please contact a Robbins Schwartz attorney.