8410 - CRISIS INTERVENTION
The Board is committed to maintaining a safe school environment. The Board believes that school crime and violence are multifaceted problems that need to be addressed in a manner that utilizes the best resources and coordinated efforts of District personnel, law enforcement agencies, and families. The Board further believes that administrators and local law enforcement officials must work together to provide for the safety and welfare of students while they are at school or a school-sponsored activity or while enroute to or from school or a school-sponsored activity. The Board also believes that the first step in addressing school crime and violence is to assess the extent and nature of the problem(s) or threat, and then plan and implement strategies that promote school safety and minimize the likelihood of school crime and violence.
The District Administrator shall develop administrative guidelines as appropriate to assist in providing effective intervention for students who may show warning signs that relate to violence or other threatening behaviors.
The District shall develop, and the Board shall approve, a school safety plan consistent with Policy 8420 - School Safety and Reporting of Crime Statistics.
Threat Assessment (See AG 8410 - Threat Assessment and Intervention)
The primary purpose of a threat assessment is to minimize the risk of targeted violence at school. This policy is designed to be consistent with the process for identifying, assessing, and managing students who may pose a threat as set forth in the joint U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Department of Education publication, Threat Assessment in Schools: A Guide to Managing Threatening Situations and to Creating Safe School Climates. The goal of the threat assessment process is to take appropriate preventive or corrective measures to maintain a safe school environment, protect and support potential victims, and provide assistance, as appropriate, to the student being assessed. The District also performs facilities' threat assessments, which are discussed in Policy 8420 and part of the school safety and emergency preparedness plan and response to school violence event protocols. This policy deals with crisis intervention as it relates to individuals.
The threat assessment process is centered upon an analysis of the facts and evidence of behavior in a given situation. The appraisal of risk in a threat assessment focuses on actions, communications, and specific circumstances that might suggest that an individual intends to cause physical harm and is engaged in planning or preparing for that event.
The Board authorizes the District Administrator to create building-level, trained threat assessment teams. Each Team shall be headed by the Principal and include appropriate staff such as a school counselor, school psychologist, instructional personnel, and, where appropriate, the School Resource Officer. At the discretion of the District Administrator, a threat assessment team may serve more than one (1) school when logistics and staff assignments make it feasible.
The Team will meet when the Principal learns a student has made a threat of violence or engages in concerning communications or behaviors that suggest the likelihood of a threatening situation.
The Team is empowered to gather information, evaluate facts, and make a determination as to whether a given student poses a threat of violence to a target. If an inquiry indicates that there is a risk of violence in a specific situation, the Team may collaborate with others to develop and implement a written plan to manage or reduce the threat posed by the student in that situation.
The District Administrator shall be responsible for the following:
identifying team participants by position and role;
requiring team participants to undergo appropriate training;
defining the nature and extent of behavior or communication that would trigger a threat assessment and/or action pursuant to a threat assessment;
defining what types of information that may be gathered during the assessment;
stating when and how parents of a student making a threat shall be notified and involved;
designating the individuals (by position) who would be responsible for gathering and investigating information;
identifying the steps and procedures to be followed from initiation to conclusion of the threat assessment inquiry or investigation.
Board employees, volunteers, and other school community members, including students and parents, shall immediately report to the District Administrator or Principal any expression of intent to harm another person or other statements or behaviors that suggest a student may intend to commit an act of violence.
Nothing in this policy overrides or replaces an individual’s responsibility to contact 911 in an emergency or to report threats of violence if required (see Policy 8462.01 - Threats of Violence).
Regardless of threat assessment activities or protocols, disciplinary action and referral to law enforcement shall occur as required by State law and Board policy.
Threat assessment team members shall maintain student confidentiality at all times as required by Board Policy 8330 – Student Records, and State and Federal law.
Persistently Dangerous Schools
The Board recognizes that State and Federal law requires that the District report annually incidents that meet the statutory definition of violent criminal offenses that occur in a school, on school grounds, on a school conveyance, or at a school-sponsored activity. It is further understood that the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction will then use this data to determine whether or not a school is considered "persistently dangerous" as defined by State policy.
Pursuant to the Board’s stated intent to provide a safe school environment, the school administrators are expected to respond appropriately to any and all violations of the Student Code of Conduct, especially those of a serious, violent nature. In any year where the number of reportable incidents of violent criminal offenses in any school exceeds the threshold number established in State policy, the District Administrator shall discuss this at the annual meeting for the purpose of reviewing the School Safety Plan so that a plan of corrective action can be developed and implemented in an effort to reduce the number of these incidents in the subsequent year.
The District Administrator shall make a report to the Board about this plan of corrective action and shall recommend approval and adoption of it.
In the unexpected event that the number of reportable incidents in three (3) consecutive school years exceeds the statutory threshold and the school is identified as persistently dangerous, students attending the school shall have the choice option as provided in Policy 5113.02.
In addition, the District Administrator shall:
- discuss the school’s designation as a persistently dangerous school at the annual meeting for the purpose of reviewing the School Safety Plan so that a plan of corrective action can be developed and implemented in an effort to reduce the number of these incidents in the subsequent year.
- convene a meeting of the building administrator, representative(s) of the local law enforcement agencies, and any other individuals deemed appropriate for the purpose of developing a plan of corrective action that can be implemented in an effort to reduce the number of these incidents in the subsequent year.
Victims of Violent Crime
The Board further recognizes that, despite the diligent efforts of school administrators and staff to provide a safe school environment, an individual student may be a victim of a violent crime in a school, on school grounds, on a school conveyance, or at a school-sponsored activity. In accordance with Federal and State law, the parents of the eligible student shall have the choice options provided by Policy 5113.02 - Intra-District Safe School Transfers Options.
T.C. 2/9/26
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