Threat Assessment and Senate Bill 11

Health Services oversees Threat Assessment at the district and campus levels at Austin ISD.  Threat Assessment is a fact-based, systematic process designed to identify, inquire, assess, and manage potentially dangerous or violent situations.

Senate Bill 11, passed by the Texas Legislature in 2019, addressed school safety in the wake of tragic school shootings, including an attack in Santa Fe, Texas. The comprehensive bill addressed elements of Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s School Safety Action Plan. The bill created a school safety allotment, that must be used to improve school safety in enumerated ways, including school safety and more. The bill added requirements and resources with respect to several school safety issues, including major changes in Threat Assessment.

Each district must:

• Establish “Safe and Supportive School Teams” to serve at each campus.
• Set policies and procedures based on TEA rules and the Texas School Safety Center at Texas State University (TxSSC) guidance for the teams.

Threat Assessment teams and programs are designed to address any behavior or communication that raises concern that a person or situation may pose a danger to the safety of the school, campus, or workplace.

What is a Threat Assessment or Safe and Supportive Schools Team?

• A team may serve more than one campus, but every campus must have a team.
• The teams will be multi-disciplinary with relevant expertise in counseling, behavior management, mental health and substance use, classroom instruction, special education, school administration, school safety and security, emergency management, and law enforcement.
• Each established team is required to conduct threat assessments that include assessing and reporting individuals who make threats of violence or exhibit harmful, threatening, or violent behavior and gather and analyze data to determine the level of risk and appropriate interventions.

Contact the campus principal for more information on the Safe and Supportive Schools Team at their campus.

Contact Information

Oscar Adams

Assoc. Director of Discipline
Email: oscar.adams@austinisd.org