The New Jersey Department of Education is pleased to offer behavioral threat assessment and management training for communities through the United States Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance Students, Teachers, and Officers Preventing School Violence Act grant program.
Participants can register for one of the following sessions, using the links below:
- Thursday, Nov. 16 from 8:30 a.m. — 3 p.m.
- Thursday, Dec. 14 from 8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.
- Thursday, Jan. 18 from 8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.
- Thursday, Feb. 29 from 8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.
- Thursday, April 18 from 8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.
- Thursday, May 16 from 8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.
School safety specialists who attend will receive appropriate hours toward certification renewal.
Background
On Aug. 1, 2022, Gov. Phil Murphy signed N.J.S.A. 18A:17-43.4, which required the establishment of threat assessment teams in public, charter and renaissance school projects.
The purpose of a threat assessment team is to provide schoolteachers, administrators and other staff with assistance in identifying students with behaviors of concern, assessing students’ risk for engaging in violence or other harmful activities and delivering intervention strategies to manage the risk of harm for a student who poses a potential safety risk.
Threat assessment teams also prevent targeted violence in a school to ensure a safe and secure school environment that enhances the learning experience for all members of the school community. Accordingly, boards of education and boards of trustees must develop and adopt a policy for the establishment of a multidisciplinary threat assessment team at each school. Any policy developed by a school district, charter school, or renaissance school project concerning the establishment of a threat assessment team must be aligned with Guidance on the Establishment of Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management Teams developed by the NJDOE.
Questions can be directed to the Office of School Preparedness and Emergency Planning via email or by calling 609-376-3574.