Date:  Monday, March 3, 2025

Time:  9:00 am - 11:30 am

Location:  Virtual on Zoom

Instructor:  Dr. Melissa Reeves, Ph.D., NCSP, LPC (bio) is a nationally certified school psychologist, licensed special education teacher, licensed professional counselor, and former district coordinator of social/emotional/behavioral services. 

Max Number of Students: 250

Target Audience: This training is appropriate for all school safety personnel and for those who are members of school behavioral threat assessment teams.

Cost: FREE TRAINING

Registration DEADLINE:  February 24, 2025

Course Description:   

Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management (BTAM): Best Practices for a Defensible Process and Special Education Considerations presented by Dr. Melissa Reeves  (bio) 

This workshop will discuss how to make your school/district’s BTAM process more legally defensible and the considerations necessary to ensure your threat assessment processes do not violate special education protocols and procedures. Current research and recommendations will be discussed with an emphasis on the critical importance of establishing multi-disciplinary threat assessment teams, addressing bias, equity, and disproportionality within the BTAM process, and how to address the systemic barriers that complicate information sharing, documentation, follow-up planning and supports, and implementation fidelity. Federal laws also require the “Direct Threat Standard” be met for any threat assessment that is conducted on students receiving specialized services or accommodations. IDEA, 504, ADA Title II, and Title IX considerations that must be addressed within the threat assessment process to ensure districts are complying with federal law will be presented. Best practice guidance regarding parent permission vs notification, information sharing, discipline, and change in programming and/or placement decisions will also be discussed. In addition, knowledge gained in serving as an expert witness in court cases involving threat assessment, targeted violence and suicidal ideation will be highlighted.

Participants will:

• learn how to build a high-quality behavioral threat assessment and management program utilizing best practice strategies to build a legally defensible process.
• understand how to conduct a threat assessment using strategies that increase equity while decreasing bias and disproportionality.
• learn the clear distinction, yet complementary aspects, between threat assessment and suicide risk assessment, and special education policies and procedures.
• be provided best practice guidance regarding parent permission vs notification, information sharing, discipline, change in programming and/or placement decisions, and implementation fidelity.
• learn how IDEA, 504, ADA Title II “Direct Threat Standard”, and Title IX intersect with threat assessment and the considerations needed to ensure districts are complying with federal law. 
• identify the critical actions that need to be taken in the threat assessment process if a change of placement or programming is to be recommended.

We, at the Center for School Safety, are ADA compliant.  If you require accommodation to participate in this event, please contact Mary Pupazzoni at (203) 837-8915 or email [email protected] and cc:  [email protected] by February 4, 2025.