Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management decisions are only as strong as the information gathered early, yet K–12 interviews require a distinct approach that is inductive, developmentally appropriate, and legally/ethically defensible. This breakout session provides practical threat assessment interview techniques for school-based teams, school resource officers, administrators, counselors, and student support staff who may need to interview a student of concern, potential targets, peers, caregivers, and relevant staff.
Participants will learn how to structure interviews to elicit actionable, behavior-based information (rather than opinions), assess intent and capability without escalating conflict, and identify protective factors and intervention opportunities. The session will cover planning and sequencing interviews, rapport-building strategies tailored to youth, questions that reduce bias and increase reliability, documentation practices that support case formulation, and coordination considerations with mental health, school discipline processes, and law enforcement when appropriate.
Learning outcomes:
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Apply a structured interview workflow for K–12 threat assessment inquiries across common stakeholder groups (student of concern, peers, staff, caregivers, potential targets)
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Use developmentally appropriate, rapport-based questioning techniques to gather behaviorally specific, decision-relevant information
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Identify and document indicators related to grievance, fixation, intent, capability, planning, and pathways to harm, alongside protective factors and leverage points for intervention
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Reduce common interview errors (leading questions, assumption-based framing, premature confrontation, over-reliance on “gut feel,” and poor documentation) and improve defensibility of team decisions.
