The Sooke School District is committed to creating and maintaining safe, caring, and inclusive learning environments for all students, staff, and families. Ensuring school safety is a shared responsibility, one that involves students, parents/guardians, staff and community partners.
As part of this commitment, we follow a Threat Risk Assessment Protocol. This protocol is designed to respond to any behaviours that pose a potential threat to the safety and well-being of our school community.
What Behaviours Warrant a Threat Assessment to be Initiated?
A threat assessment will be initiated for behaviours including, but not limited to, serious violence or violence with intent to harm or kill, verbal/written threats to harm or kill others, online threats to harm or kill others, possession of weapons (including replicas), bomb threats (making and/or detonating explosive devices), fire setting, sexual intimidation, or assault and gang-related intimidation and violence.
What is a Threat?
A threat is an expression of intent to do harm or act out violently against someone or something. Threats may be verbal, written, drawn, posted on the Internet, or made by gesture. Threats must be taken seriously, investigated, and responded to.
Duty to Report
To keep school communities safe and caring, staff, parents/guardians and caregivers, students, and community members must report all threat-related behaviours.
What is a Threat Assessment Team?
A multi-disciplinary threat risk assessment works to understand the situation and how to best respond to a threat. Typically, this process will include school-based administration, school district personnel, the RCMP, and may include mental health clinicians and Ministry of Child and Family Development (MCFD) representation.
What is the Purpose of a Threat Risk Assessment?
The purposes of a student threat assessment are:
• To ensure the safety of students, staff, parents/guardians and caregivers, and others.
• To ensure a full understanding of the context of the threat.
• To understand factors contributing to the person of concern's behaviour.
• To be proactive in developing an intervention plan that addresses the emotional and physical safety of the person of concern.
• To promote the emotional and physical safety of all.
What Happens in a Threat Assessment?
All threat-related behaviour shall be reported to the principal, who will activate the protocol for the initial response. Once the team has been activated, interviews may be held with the student(s), the person of concern, parents, and staff to determine the level of risk and develop an appropriate response. Intervention plans will be developed and shared with parents, staff, and students as required. If there is reason to believe that a situation presents serious and imminent risk, an immediate call is made to 911.
Can I Refuse to Participate in a Threat Assessment Process?
It is important for all parties to engage in the process. However, if for some reason there is a reluctance to participate in the process by the person of concern or parent/caregiver, the threat assessment process will continue in order to promote a safe and caring learning environment.
Collection Notice
Schools and school districts are subject to personal information privacy laws and will undertake the collection of information in compliance with the requirements of such laws. This will include limiting the collection to information that is relevant and necessary to address a risk or threat and ensuring that information collected from an online source is only obtained from open-source sites. Schools and school districts will not collect information as part of a threat assessment unless there is reason to believe that a risk exists. Information collected as part of a threat assessment may be provided to police agencies in appropriate circumstances. Information collected will be retained and handled within current records management procedures and guidelines.
If you have any questions about the Fair Notice process, please contact the school’s principal or info@sd62.bc.ca.