The Expansion of Zero Tolerance From No Guns to No Toy Guns No - PDF document

Student Threat Assessment November 17, 2017 Dewey Cornell, Ph.D. Statew ide I m plem entation of Student Threat Assessm ent in Virginia Public Schools Dewey Cornell, Jennifer Maeng, Francis Huang (U Missouri), Timothy Konold, Anna Grace Burnette, Shelby Stohlman, Yuane Jia, Pooja Datta, Marisa Malone Curry School of Education University of Virginia Student Threat Assessm ent as a Safe and Supportive Prevention Strategy Email: youthvio@virginia.edu Website: youthviolence.edschool.virginia.edu 4-year project (2015-2018) This project supported by Grant # NIJ 2014-CK-BX-0004 awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication/ program/ exhibition are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Justice. Zero Tolerance Suspensions Traum a of School Violence After the New tow n Shootings 6 year old pointed finger and said “pow !” School shootings are so traum atic that they skew perceptions http:/ / w w w .sott.net/ article/ 2 5 55 52 -6 -year-old-suspended- for-pretend-gunshot of school safety and stim ulate over-reactions to student m isbehavior. The Expansion of Zero Tolerance From No Guns to • No Toy Guns • No Nail clippers • No Plastic utensils • No Finger-pointing • No Jokes • No Drawings • No Rubber band shooting No Accidental violations Do not copy without permission 434-924-8929 1

Student Threat Assessment November 17, 2017 Dewey Cornell, Ph.D. Suspension Practices Avoid the error of over-reaction Suspension is a practice that has m ore negative than positive effects on students: • Fall behind in their classes • Feel alienated and rejected • Continue to m isbehave and be suspended • Drop out of school • Juvenile court involvem ent The school-to-prison pipeline Avoid the error of under-reaction W hat is Threat Assessm ent? Threat assessm ent is a problem - solving approach to violence prevention that involves assessm ent and intervention w ith students w ho have threatened violence in som e w ay. Potential Advantages of Threat Assessm ent Takes a Threat Assessm ent Problem -Solving Approach The team takes action based on • Avoid over-reaction and stigm a of the seriousness of the threat. identifying student as dangerous. • W hat protective action, if any, is needed? • Avoid under-reaction to serious cases. • W hat problem stim ulated the threat? Fair, system atic process that • • W hat can be done to resolve that problem ? m inim izes bias in discipline. • I m prove school clim ate by resolving conflicts before they escalate. Do not copy without permission 434-924-8929 2

Student Threat Assessment November 17, 2017 Dewey Cornell, Ph.D. Research on • Developed 2 0 0 1 at Threat Assessm ent University of Virginia • School-based team s gather inform ation 1. Cornell, D., Sheras, P. Kaplan, S., McConville, D., Douglass, J., Elkon, A., McKnight, L., Branson, C., & Cole, J. • Follow decision-tree (2004). Guidelines for student threat assessment: Field-test findings. School Psychology Review, 33 , 527-546. 2. Kaplan, S., & Cornell, D. (2005). Threats of violence by students in special education. Behavioral Disorders, 31 , 107- to determ ine w hether 119. 3. Strong, K., & Cornell, D. (2008). Student threat assessment in Memphis City Schools: A descriptive report. Behavioral threat is transient or Disorders, 34 , 42-54. 4. Allen, K., Cornell, D., Lorek, E., & Sheras, P. (2008). Response of school personnel to student threat assessment substantive training. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 19 , 319-332. 5. Cornell, D., Sheras, P., Gregory, A., & Fan, X. (2009). A retrospective study of school safety conditions in high schools • Attem pt to resolve using the Virginia Threat Assessment Guidelines versus alternative approaches. School Psychology Quarterly, 24 , 119- 129. the problem 6. Cornell, D., Gregory, A., & Fan, X. (2011). Reductions in long-term suspensions following adoption of the Virginia Student Threat Assessment Guidelines. Bulletin of the National Association of Secondary School Principals, 95, 175- underlying the threat 194. 7. Cornell, D., Allen, K., & Fan, X. (2012). A randomized controlled study of the Virginia Student Threat Assessment Guidelines in grades K-12. School Psychology Review, 41 , 100-115. • Take protective action 8. Cornell, D. & Lovegrove, P. (2015). Student threat assessment as a method for reducing student suspensions. In D. Losen (Ed.). Closing the School Discipline Gap: Research for Policymakers . New York, NY: Teachers College Press. if needed 9. Nekvasil, E., Cornell, D. (2015). Student threat assessment associated with positive school climate in middle schools. Journal of Threat Assessment and Management 2, 98-113. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/tam0000038 Available from Amazon.com 10. Burnette, A. G., Datta, P., & Cornell, D. (in press). The distinction between transient and substantive student threats. Journal of Threat Assessment and Management . 2 0 1 3 Governor’s School and Cam pus Safety Task Force 4 0 m em bers, Led by Secretaries of Public Safety, Education, and Health and Hum an Resources http: / / dcjs.virginia.gov/ vcss/ SchoolCampusSafetyTaskForce/ Virginia Student Threat W hat is the “Virginia m odel”? Assessm ent Project 1 . Statew ide inventory of practices 2 . Assessm ent of outcom es by race 3 . I dentify training needs 4 . I m prove training effectiveness Model Policies developed in 2 0 1 4 Threat assessm ent m odel by VA Dept. of Crim inal Justice developed in 2 0 0 1 at UVa under Services ( w ith input from Dr. direction of Dr. Dew ey Cornell, Cornell) ; schools can use any recognized by NREPP as an m odel that conform s to its evidence-based practice. Virginia general guidelines, including the Student Threat Assessm ent UVa VSTAG m odel. Guidelines ( VSTAG) Do not copy without permission 434-924-8929 3

Student Threat Assessment November 17, 2017 Dewey Cornell, Ph.D. Types of Threats (%) n= 1,865 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 Unspecified 33 Kill 23 Use weapon 21 Hit, beat 18 Stab, cut 13 Bomb 5 Arson 1 Sexual 1 Selected sam ple of 1 ,8 6 5 threat assessm ent cases reported Percentages for 1 ,8 6 5 threat cases from 7 8 5 schools. One case by 7 8 5 Virginia public schools during the 2 0 1 4 -1 5 school year can involve m ore than one type of threat. Characteristics of Threats Intended Victim (%) Judged to be Serious n = 1,865 ( 3 0 .5 % ) 0 20 40 60 Student 68 Characteristic of Threat Odds Ratio Teacher 15 Elementary 0.57* * * Special Education 1.27* Whole school/group 13 Homicide threat 1.40* * Battery threat 1.61* * 7 Staff/administrator Administrator threatened 3.55* * * Other 4 Weapon in possession 4.41* * * * p < .0 5 , * * p < .0 1 , * * * p < .0 0 1 Percentages for 1 ,8 6 5 threat cases from 7 8 5 schools. One case can involve m ore than one victim . Threat Outcomes (%) Characteristics of Threats n = 1,865 cases That W ere Attem pted 0 20 40 60 80 100 ( 3 .3 % ) Threat Not Characteristic of Threat Odds Ratio 97.7 Attempted Elementary ns Special Education ns Attempted and Homicide threat 0.22* 2.6 Averted Battery threat 3.33* * * Administrator threatened ns Threat Carried Weapon in possession ns 0.7 Out Judged to be serious 12.48* * * * p < .0 5 , * * p < .0 1 , * * * p < .0 0 1 Do not copy without permission 434-924-8929 4

Student Threat Assessment November 17, 2017 Dewey Cornell, Ph.D. School Placement Outcome (%) Disciplinary Outcome (%) n = 1,865 cases n= 1,865 0 10 20 30 40 50 0 20 40 60 80 Reprimand 53 No Change 84 Suspension out of school 44 Transferred to alternative Suspension in school 16 8 school Expulsion reduced to… 5 Homebound instruction 5 Detention after school 3 Placed in juvenile detention 3 Transferred to regular 1 Arrested school 1 Expelled 1 Other 2 Percentages for 1 ,8 6 5 threat cases from 7 8 5 schools. One case can involve m ore than one outcom e. Virginia Student Threat No Racial Differences in Disciplinary Outcomes for Assessm ent Project Students Receiving a Threat Assessment n = 785 schools 50 46 45 43 White • Analyses show som e positive results for 40 Percent of Students statew ide im plem entation of student threat Black assessm ent. 30 Hispanic • Schools are m aking differentiated 18 20 16 15 assessm ents, recognizing that m ost cases are not serious. 10 1.5 • Most students are able to return to school, 1.4 1.2 0.5 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.7 0 0 w ith few arrests or expulsions. Suspension Change in Expulsion Arrest Incarceration Placement • Sim ilar outcom es for Black, Hispanic, and W hite students. No statistically significant differences for W hite vs Black or W hite vs Hispanic students Virginia Student Threat Virginia Student Threat Assessm ent Project Assessm ent Project Variation across schools in…. Educational program s to: 1 . Threshold for doing an 1 . I ncrease school understanding of assessm ent threat assessm ent 2 . Criteria for a serious threat 2 . I ncrease serious threat reporting 3 . Threat response Do not copy without permission 434-924-8929 5