What the New NTAC Report Means for Behavioral Threat Assessment in Schools

School safety has reached a new inflection point. With rising concerns around student well-being, mental health, and threats of violence, districts are increasingly turning to behavioral threat assessment in schools as an essential strategy for violence prevention and early intervention. But a new national report from the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) and RAND Corporation reveals something critical: while schools are doing more than ever to identify concerning behaviors, gaps in follow-through and system structure are limiting effectiveness.

To help school leaders understand what this means for their teams, their processes, and their students, Navigate360 has developed a concise, accessible executive summary of the full report. Here’s why this study matters—and why district leaders should download the summary to take the next step.

A National Benchmark for School Threat Assessment

The NTAC/RAND study, the largest of its kind, gathered insights from more than 1,700 school leaders nationwide, providing an unprecedented snapshot of how schools approach behavioral threat assessment and management (BTAM).

While adoption is widespread, nearly 80% of schools now use multidisciplinary threat assessment teams—the report makes clear that too few have comprehensive, evidence-based systems in place. Many schools lack written policies, consistent workflows, or standardized threat assessment guidelines such as CSTAG or the NTAC model.

This inconsistency creates risk. When documentation varies by team member, or when key decisions live in siloed notes or spreadsheets, it becomes harder to ensure accurate assessments, equitable decisions, and effective intervention—all core components of a comprehensive school threat assessment process.

Spotting Concerns Is No Longer Enough

The report highlights something school leaders have long experienced: assessment is only the beginning.

Ongoing management—the intervention, monitoring, support planning, and reintegration work that happens after a case is identified—is the true heart of violence prevention. And yet, it is also the area where schools struggle most.

Many districts lack:

• Tailored intervention options
• Coordinated mental health supports
• Data systems that show what works
• Clear processes for monitoring student progress

When follow-through is inconsistent, schools risk finding themselves in a reactive cycle: identify → act quickly → document → move on, without the long-term care students need to succeed.

“Schools are telling us something loud and clear: our threat-assessment systems are doing a decent job of spotting concerns—but they’re still scrambling when it comes to what to actually do with them.”

— JP Guilbault, CEO, Navigate360

The NTAC/RAND report echoes this, noting that training, intervention capacity, and data management remain persistent challenges for many BTAM teams.

A Roadmap That Mirrors What Districts Already Know

One of the most valuable contributions of the NTAC report is its clear set of national recommendations—each of which aligns with long-standing district needs:

• Establish structured frameworks with written policies, documented procedures, and clearly defined team roles
• Invest in professional training to ensure teams maintain competency in best-practice threat assessment and management
• Strengthen collaboration with families, service providers, and community partners
• Use data analytics to understand patterns, measure outcomes, and support continuous improvement
• Adopt consistent, evidence-based models such as CSTAG or NTAC

Download our summary to get a concise, leader-ready view of these recommendations, and how they apply to your district’s current BTAM practices.

Why This Matters Now More Than Ever

Behavioral threat assessment in schools is no longer something districts can treat as optional or fragmented. It’s now deeply connected to:

• School safety and violence prevention
• Student mental health and well-being
• Legal and compliance expectations
• Public trust and community confidence
• Equitable decision-making and early intervention

At a time when multidisciplinary teams are managing increasingly complex concerns, from threats of violence to self-harm risk, the need for structured, consistent, and data-informed BTAM programs has never been clearer.

Get the Key Insights In a Format Built for District Leaders

The NTAC/RAND report is comprehensive—but for many administrators, it’s also long, technical, and time-consuming. That’s why Navigate360 created a focused executive summary, designed specifically for:

• Superintendents
• Safety and security directors
• Student services and counseling leaders
• School threat assessment team members

You’ll get:

• The key takeaways district leaders need to know
• The national trends shaping school safety
• The challenges districts must prepare for
• The recommended roadmap for the future of BTAM
• Where most districts struggle, and how to close the gaps