School safety and behavioral threat assessment

School shootings have generated national concern about school safety. Government responses have emphasized the use of target-hardening security measures with comparatively little attention to student support needs and preventive interventions. One promising prevention strategy, behavioral threat assessment and management (BTAM), has become widely used in U.S. and Canadian schools. However, critics on both the left and right have raised objections to BTAM because of its linkages to politically controversial topics such as the role of law enforcement in schools and the use of nonpunitive, supportive practices. Previous reviews of research cautiously supported the practice of BTAM in schools but noted the need to study schools outside of Virginia and to further examine the effectiveness and fairness of BTAM. This article summarizes 20 studies, published since 2022, which provide substantial new evidence that both counter political objections and fill gaps in prior research. This research, conducted across multiple states, provides evidence on typical referral rates for schools using BTAM, the low level of violence after a threat assessment, and the kinds of support services students received. Most notably, the recent studies found low levels of school exclusion and arrests associated with BTAM and confirm previous research finding little or no disparities associated with race/ethnicity, family income, or disability status. Overall, these studies support conclusions that BTAM is a safe, fair, and effective practice and they reinforce the value of preventive approaches to school safety. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).