Virginia Youth Violence Project

03/02/2026

Here is an article in Psychology Today about one of our recent studies that explains a lot about the CSTAG model of threat assessment. There are some overstatements in the article (CSTAG is used in many, but not most, schools) but it gets the concepts right.

Most school threats fade fast, but some signal real danger. A massive Florida study shows how threat assessment separates noise from risk—and why it keeps schools safer.

02/23/2026

We have a new study comparing BTAM in 1,724 traditional and 407 nontraditional K-12 schools. The nontraditional schools included charter, specialty, alternative, and exceptional education schools. All of the schools used the CSTAG model. Overall, traditional and nontraditional schools had similar referral rates, threat classifications, support services, and disciplinary outcomes. However, alternative and exceptional education schools, which serve students with a higher rate of behavioral problems, had higher referral rates and more serious threats than other school types. Charter schools were more likely to suspend or transfer students to another school. This journal has given me a link that permits anyone to download a copy of the article, up to 50 copies, so if you want a pdf of the article, try this:

Research on behavioral threat assessment and management (BTAM) has focused on traditional K-12 public schools, often excluding nontraditional settings such as alternative, charter, exceptional educ...

01/20/2026

Doctoral student Jordan Kerere just published our latest study demonstrating (again) the safety of the CSTAG model and the value of the transient/substantive threat classification system. Based on 2,349 cases in 166 schools from five states, only 234 (10%) of cases resulted in an attack (physical assaults or fights, no shootings), with only 7 (0.3%) serious injuries (no homicides). Odds of an attack were 20x greater for substantive threats. Copy available upon request. https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Flhb0000649

12/03/2025

Our latest publication examined adverse outcomes for students who received a CSTAG threat assessment. We looked at course failure, state achievement test failure, grade retention, and dropout for 2,287 students from 202 Florida high schools, at the end of the school year following their threat assessment. Overall, the rates of adverse outcomes were NOT elevated compared to the general student population and in some cases were lower. There is no indication that threat assessment has a harmful academic impact and some suggestion that it is protective. Copies available upon request.

Behavioral threat assessment and management (BTAM) has become a widely used violence prevention strategy in U.S. schools. Previous studies have examined behavioral and disciplinary outcomes; this l...

10/14/2025

I am pleased to announce that Jordan Kerere successfully defended her doctoral dissertation today (way ahead of schedule!) Her three dissertation studies examined the frequency of student attacks following a school threat assessment using the Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines. Next up for her are interviews for her internship in clinical psychology.

08/01/2025

I was interviewed by David Riedman (developer of the K-12 School Shooting Database) for his podcast on school shootings. It covers the origin of threat assessment teams in schools, why we need a team approach, and the need for high quality training and implementation. As examples, he comments on several shootings where a threat assessment could have been effective. We talk about the role of law enforcement in threat assessment, the problems of a zero tolerance approach, and the importance of threat reporting. I mention the forthcoming ASIS standards and the National Center for School Safety threat assessment toolkit.

Dr. Dewey Cornell, a forensic clinical psychologist, explains how the Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines started and evolved over the last 25 years.

07/03/2025

Our team presented two papers at the World Anti-Bullying Forum in Stavanger, Norway in June. It was a terrific conference with lots of excellent papers and good conversations.

02/16/2025

Here is another in our series of studies examining the equity of the Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines. This study used a rigorous statistical method (Bayesian analysis) to show more definitively that students received equitable disciplinary outcomes across groups defined by race, ethnicity, family income, and disability status at both school and individual student levels. Can send a pdf by email or message if you want the full article.

The widespread adoption of behavioral threat assessment across the United States has raised concerns about equity in exclusionary school discipline. This study examined out-of-school suspension (OS...

01/27/2025

How often do schools conduct a threat assessment? Our new article on CSTAG referral rates has just been published by Psychology in the Schools. A PDF is available upon request. In brief, this study examined the 1‐year frequency of threat assessments in a statewide sample of 611 elementary, 341 middle, and 269 high schools reporting 15,301 threat assessments, of which 41% concerned students with disabilities. The percentage of the student enrollment referred for a threat assessment was 1.6% for elementary schools, 1.8% for middle schools, and .9% for high schools. We explain why differences in referral rates associated with student grade, gender, race/ethnicity, and disability status are not necessarily indicators of bias because the results are helpful to students and result in lower rates of school removal. We discuss reasons why students with disabilities might be referred for BTAM at a high rate and recommend practices for assuring their educational rights and needs are safeguarded. This is the first of 3 forthcoming articles that support the fairness and equity of CSTAG for students grouped by race/ethnicity, low income, or disability status. The other 2 are coming soon.

Although behavioral threat assessment and management (often shortened to “threat assessment”) has become widely used in US schools, no studies have systematically examined how frequently schools cond...

01/23/2025

Can we prevent school shootings? I was asked this question in a podcast by the American Psychological Association. My answer explains how threat assessment works and why it is helpful for schools to use it. I think this would be a good resource for teachers, parents, and others who want to understand the benefits of threat assessment and why their school is safer than they think. This is a free podcast

Dewey Cornell, PhD, discusses how schools can respond when faced with a potential threat

01/13/2025

Here is another example of overreaction to student threats due to a zero tolerance approach. Unfortunately, these cases are used by some groups as reasons to argue against the use of threat assessment, rather than recognized as a reason why we need threat assessment. Educate your school administration, school board, and state legislators.

The lawsuits, filed in federal court this month, argue East Tennessee school officials violated students’ rights by calling the police on them under Tennessee’s threats of mass violence law.