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ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESFifty-fourth Legislature Second Regular Session |
House: Education DPA 8-5-0-0 |
HB2089: schools; safety; threat assessment teams
Sponsor: Representative Kavanagh, LD 23
Committee on Public Safety
Overview
Relating to the establishment of a threat assessment team for each public school.
History
The School Safety Program is a grant program established by statute that allows school districts and charter schools to apply for grant monies to support the costs of placing school resource officers (SROs), juvenile probation officers (JPOs), school counselors and school social workers on school campuses (A.R.S. § 15-154). School districts and charter schools are eligible to receive funding for up to three fiscal years and may annually submit a modified spending plan if they are approved for a three-year grant. In FY 2020, the Legislature appropriated $32,000,000 to the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) for the School Safety Program (Laws 2019, Chapter 263).
The Arizona Counter Terrorism Information Center (ACTIC) is a joint effort between the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS), the Arizona Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other participating agencies that provides intelligence, investigative and technical support to local, tribal, state and federal law enforcement agencies.
Provisions
1. 
Mandates each school district governing board adopt policies to
establish threat assessment teams and specifies that these policies must
include procedures for:
a) Assessing individuals whose behavior may pose a threat to the safety of school staff or students and intervening when necessary; and
b) Referring individuals to community services boards or health care providers to be evaluated and treated, when appropriate. (Sec.1)
2. Requires each school district superintendent to establish, for each school, a threat assessment team that includes, subject to staff availability, individuals with expertise in:
a) Counseling;
b) Instruction;
c) School administration; and
d) Law enforcement. (Sec. 1)
3. States that threat assessment teams may serve one or more schools. (Sec. 1)
4. Requires each threat assessment team to:
a) Provide guidance to students, school faculty and staff regarding recognizing an individual's threatening or aberrant behavior that may threaten the community, the school or self;
b) Identify members of the school community to whom threatening behavior must be reported; and
c) Implement policies adopted by the school district governing board regarding the assessing and referring of identified individuals. (Sec. 1)
5. Permits a school district superintendent to establish a committee that is charged with overseeing the threat assessment teams operating within the school district and specifies that the committee:
a) May be an existing committee; and
b) Must include, subject to staff availability, individuals with expertise in human resources, education, school administration, mental health and law enforcement. (Sec. 1)
7. Specifies that school district personnel are not precluded from acting immediately to address an imminent threat. (Sec. 1)
8. States that after a threat assessment team preliminarily determines that an individual poses a threat of violence to self or others or exhibits significantly disruptive behavior or a need for assistance, the law enforcement officer on the threat assessment team may:
a) Request any case information relating to an individual; and
b) Conduct a check of the individual's criminal history records. (Sec. 1)
9. Prohibits threat assessment team members from disclosing any case information or information about an individual's criminal history or use any record of an individual beyond the purposes for which the disclosure was made to the threat assessment team. (Sec. 1)
10. Requires each threat assessment team to collect and report twice each year to the Superintendent of Public Instruction and ACTIC on its activities using a form provided by ACTIC. (Sec. 1)
11. States that a threat assessment team may not collect and report data that is protected under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. (Sec. 1)
12. Requires DPS to provide a law enforcement agency with access to case information upon request from a law enforcement officer on a threat assessment team. (Sec. 2)
Amendments
Committee on Education
1. 
Mandates each charter school governing body adopt policies to
establish threat assessment teams and specifies that these policies must
include procedures for:
a) Assessing individuals whose behavior may pose a threat to the safety of school staff or students and intervening when necessary; and
b) Referring individuals to community services boards or health care providers to be evaluated and treated, when appropriate.
2. Requires each chief administrative officer of a charter school to establish, for each school, a threat assessment team that includes, subject to staff availability, individuals with expertise in:
a) Counseling;
b) Instruction;
c) School administration; and
d) Law enforcement.
3. States that threat assessment teams may serve one or more charter school.
4. Permits a chief administrative officer of a charter school to establish a committee that is charged with overseeing the threat assessment teams operating within the charter school and specifies that the committee:
a) May be an existing committee; and
b) Must include, subject to staff availability, individuals with expertise in human resources, education, school administration, mental health and law enforcement.
5. Stipulates the threat assessment team must immediately report a preliminary determination that an individual poses a threat of violence or physical harm to self or others to the chief administrative officer of the charter school or a designee, who then must notify a student's parent if the individual is a student. (Sec. 1)
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Initials CH Public Safety
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