H.B. 605
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
Apr 13, 2023
SESSION 2023 HOUSE PRINCIPAL CLERK
H D
HOUSE BILL DRH30241-NH-9
Short Title: School Threat Assessment Teams. (Public)
Sponsors: Representative Torbett.
Referred to:
1 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
2 AN ACT TO ESTABLISH THREAT ASSESSMENT TEAMS IN PUBLIC SCHOOL UNITS,
3 TO ESTABLISH PEER-TO-PEER COUNSELING IN PUBLIC SCHOOL UNITS, TO
4 CLARIFY THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION SHALL
5 PARTICIPATE IN THE ADOPTION OF RULES REGARDING PLACEMENT AND
6 CONTENTS OF SCHOOL CRISIS KITS IN PUBLIC SCHOOL UNITS, TO EXPAND
7 LAW ENFORCEMENT ACCESS FROM ONLY TRADITIONAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO
8 ALL PUBLIC SCHOOL UNITS, AND TO EXPAND DATA COLLECTION
9 REQUIREMENTS REGARDING SCHOOL SAFETY EXERCISES FROM ONLY
10 TRADITIONAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO ALL PUBLIC SCHOOL UNITS.
11 The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
12
13 PART I. ORGANIZE ARTICLE INTO TWO PARTS
14 SECTION 1. G.S. 115C-105.46, 115C-105.47A, and 115C-105.48 are codified into
15 Part 1 of Article 8C of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes, Local Plans for Alternative
16 Schools/Alternative Learning Programs and Maintaining Safe and Orderly Schools. Part 1 shall
17 be entitled "Local Plans for Alternative Schools/Alternative Learning Programs." The remaining
18 sections of Article 8C of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes shall be codified into Part 2, which
19 shall be entitled "Maintaining Safe and Orderly Schools."
20
21 PART II. ESTABLISH THREAT ASSESSMENT TEAMS
22 SECTION 2.(a) Article 8C of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by
23 adding a new section to read:
24 "§ 115C-105.65. Threat assessment teams.
25 (a) Definitions. – The following definitions apply in this section:
26 (1) Superintendent. – The superintendent or, if there is no superintendent, the staff
27 member with the highest decision-making authority.
28 (2) Threat assessment. – A fact-based process of identifying, assessing, and
29 managing behavior that may pose a risk of violence or other harm to self or
30 others.
31 (3) Threat assessment team. – A multidisciplinary team that includes, but is not
32 limited to, persons with expertise in counseling, instruction, school
33 administration, and law enforcement that conducts threat assessments in a
34 public school unit when threatening behavior has been communicated and
35 when a student has engaged in threatening behavior that warrants further
36 evaluation. When practicable, at least one school psychologist, one staff
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 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2023
1 member knowledgeable about and experienced in working with students with
2 special needs, and one staff member knowledgeable about and experienced in
3 working with students with disabilities shall be assigned to the threat
4 assessment team. If a school psychologist is not available, the school may
5 assign a licensed mental health professional instead. Members of a threat
6 assessment team who are not employees of the public school unit may review
7 student records as provided in 34 C.F.R. § 99.31(a)(1)(i)(B) pursuant to a
8 written agreement with the public school unit of the requirements and
9 responsibilities for use of student records under the federal Family
10 Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
11 (4) Threatening behavior. – Any communication or action that indicates that an
12 individual may pose a danger to the safety or well-being of school staff or
13 students through acts of violence or other behaviors that would cause harm to
14 self or others. These behaviors may be expressed or communicated orally,
15 visually, in writing, electronically, or through any other means and may be
16 considered threatening regardless of whether a direct verbal threat is
17 expressed.
18 (b) The Center for Safer Schools shall develop guidance for threat assessment teams for
19 public school units and all public school units shall have access to the guidance. The Center shall
20 develop the guidance by (i) collecting information and best practices from schools with existing
21 threat assessment teams and (ii) consulting with the Task Force for Safer Schools, Disability
22 Rights North Carolina, the North Carolina School Psychology Association, the State Bureau of
23 Investigation, and relevant State government agencies. This guidance shall not reference or
24 reveal any information that has been excluded as a public record under G.S. 115C-47(40), Part 2
25 of Article 8C of this Chapter, or any other relevant statute. The guidance shall include, at a
26 minimum, the best practices for the following:
27 (1) Assessment of and intervention with an individual whose behavior poses a
28 risk to the safety of school staff, students, or self, including suggested
29 definitions of threat levels with examples of behavior that would be
30 considered a threat under the given definitions.
31 (2) If the individual is a student or minor, involvement of the individual's parent
32 or legal guardian throughout the threat assessment process.
33 (3) Referral to LME/MCOs, as provided in G.S. 122C-115.4(b)(9), for evaluation
34 or treatment, when appropriate.
35 (4) Compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA),
36 20 U.S.C. § 1232g, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA),
37 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq., and Article 9 of Chapter 115C of the General
38 Statutes.
39 (c) The governing body of a public school unit shall develop a policy for the
40 establishment of threat assessment teams. In developing these policies, the unit shall consult the
41 guidance issued by the Center for Safer Schools released pursuant to subsection (b) of this
42 section. These policies shall not reference or reveal any information that has been excluded as a
43 public record under G.S. 115C-47(40), Part 2 of Article 8C of this Chapter, or any other relevant
44 statute.
45 (d) The superintendent or the superintendent's designee shall establish a committee
46 charged with coordination and monitoring of the threat assessment teams operating within the
47 unit, which may be an existing committee established by the unit. The committee shall include
48 individuals with expertise in human resources, education, school administration, mental health,
49 and law enforcement.
50 (e) The superintendent of a public school unit shall establish a multidisciplinary threat
51 assessment team for each school within the unit. In the discretion of the superintendent, an
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1 established threat assessment team may serve more than one school in the unit. Each team shall
2 have the following duties and responsibilities:
3 (1) Provide training to students, faculty, and staff regarding recognition and
4 reporting of threatening behavior that may indicate a risk of harm to the
5 community, school, or self.
6 (2) Establish a written policy defining how threats will be assessed, including any
7 scale or classification system that will be used to indicate various levels of
8 threats and the standard response to each level of threat. A copy of the policy
9 shall be sent to the Center for Safer Schools.
10 (3) Identify members of the school community to whom threatening behavior
11 should be reported.
12 (4) Implement policies adopted by the governing body of the public school unit
13 pursuant to subsection (c) of this section.
14 (5) Utilize anonymous reporting applications for students to share information
15 about school safety concerns requiring investigation.
16 (6) Upon finding a credible threat, a threat assessment team may take any of the
17 following actions:
18 a. Recommend that the individual involved be referred for mental health
19 services. If the individual is a student or minor, the parents shall be
20 notified of the recommendation and encouraged to contact the
21 student's primary care provider, insurance, or the local Medicaid
22 management entity or managed care organization.
23 b. Provide notice to individuals who are the subject of threatening
24 behavior and, if the individual is a student or a minor, provide notice
25 to the student's parent or legal guardian. All notices shall be in
26 accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20
27 U.S.C. § 1232g.
28 c. Provide notice to the appropriate local law enforcement agency.
29 (e1) Any information shared among members of the threat assessment team pursuant to
30 this subsection shall remain confidential, shall not be a public record subject to Chapter 132 of
31 the General Statutes, and shall only be released in connection with an emergency under the
32 standards established by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act in 20 U.S.C. §
33 1232g(b)(1)(I).
34 (f) Any threat assessment team may submit a request to the Center for Safer Schools, in
35 a manner to be determined by the Center, for a training session on the implementation or
36 operation of a threat assessment team. Within 30 days of any training conducted pursuant to this
37 section, the Center shall send a brief to all assessment teams giving an overview of the training,
38 including any solutions reached or lessons learned.
39 (g) Each threat assessment team established pursuant to this section shall report
40 quantitative data on its activities to the Center for Safer Schools as required by the Center. The
41 Center is authorized to share these reports with any agency it consults with to develop policies
42 pursuant to this section. Such data shall include, at a minimum, the following:
43 (1) Number of threat assessments conducted annually and demographic
44 information on the individuals assessed.
45 (2) Total number of threat assessments that resulted in a determination that the
46 behavior being assessed posed a threat, and any information on the scale or
47 classification of the threat, as described by the written policy required by
48 subdivision (e)(2) of this section.
49 (3) All actions and the results of those actions taken in response to finding a threat.
50 (4) Number, subject, and solution or outcome of any technical assistance requests.
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1 (h) No governing body of a public school unit, nor its members, employees, designees,
2 agents, or volunteers, shall be liable in civil damages to any party for any loss or damage caused
3 by any act or omission relating to the participation in or implementation of any component of the
4 threat assessment team policies required by this section, unless that act or omission amounts to
5 gross negligence, wanton conduct, or intentional wrongdoing. Nothing in this section shall be
6 construed to impose any specific duty of care or standard of care.
7 (i) Nothing in this section shall preclude public school personnel from acting
8 immediately to address threatening behavior that is an imminent risk.
9 (j) Any action taken pursuant to this section, or a rule or policy developed pursuant to
10 this section, shall comply with the Constitution of the United States, the North Carolina
11 Constitution, and Article 27 of this Chapter."
12 SECTION 2.(b) G.S. 115C-105.57(c)(2)c. reads as rewritten:
13 "c. Threat assessment.assessment and threat assessment teams, including
14 development of guidance pursuant to G.S. 115C-105.65(b)."
15 SECTION 2.(c) G.S. 122C-115.4(b) is amended by adding a new subdivision to
16 read:
17 "(9) Each LME/MCO shall receive referrals from school superintendents or
18 designees in accordance with G.S. 115C-105.65(b)(3) related to students who
19 are uninsured or are covered by Medicaid and not enrolled in a prepaid health
20 plan residing in the LME/MCO's catchment area. Within 10 calendar days
21 after receipt of a referral, the LME/MCO shall contact the student's parent or
22 legal guardian using the information provided on the referral and shall provide
23 assistance with identifying appropriate existing mental health resources
24 available to the student. The assistance shall include identifying sources of
25 funding to assist with the cost of mental health services as well as providing
26 referrals to appropriate mental health service providers and mental health
27 services."
28 SECTION 2.(d) The Center for Safer Schools shall develop guidance for threat
29 assessment teams as required by G.S. 115C-105.65(b), as enacted by this act, no later than
30 December 31, 2023. Public school units shall establish threat assessment teams as required by
31 G.S. 115C-105.65, as enacted by this act, no later than March 1, 2024.
32
33 PART III. ESTABLISH PEER-TO-PEER SUPPORT PROGRAMS
34 SECTION 3.(a) G.S. 115C-47 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:
35 "(68) Peer-to-Peer Student Support Programs. – Local boards of education shall
36 require peer-to-peer student support programs be established at all schools
37 with grades six and higher and are encouraged to implement peer-to-peer
38 student support programs as appropriate in other grades."
39 SECTION 3.(b) G.S. 115C-316.1(a) is amended by adding a new subdivision to
40 read:
41 "(5) Coordinating and providing training for students in peer-to-peer student
42 support programs that address areas such as conflict resolution, general health
43 and wellness, and mentoring. The Center for Safer Schools will support school
44 counselors in the administration and delivery of peer-to-peer student support
45 programs."
46 SECTION 3.(c) This section is effective when it becomes law. Local boards of
47 education are encouraged to establish peer-to-peer support groups, as identified in
48 G.S. 115C-47(68) and G.S. 115C-316.1(a), as amended by this act, by the 2023-2024 school year
49 and shall establish peer-to-peer support groups by the 2024-2025 school year.
50
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1 PART IV. EXPAND REQUIREMENTS OF SAFETY EXERCISES, SCHOOL CRISIS
2 KITS, AND LAW ENFORCEMENT ACCESS
3 SECTION 4.(a) G.S. 115C-105.49 reads as rewritten:
4 "§ 115C-105.49. School safety exercises.
5 (a) At least once annually, each local school administrative public school unit shall
6 require each school under its control to hold a full school-wide tabletop exercise and drill based
7 on the procedures documented in its School Risk Management Plan (SRMP). (SRMP) and shall
8 report the date and time the drill is conducted to the Center for Safer Schools. The drill shall
9 include a practice school lockdown due to an intruder on school grounds. Each school is
10 encouraged to hold a tabletop exercise and drill for multiple hazards included in its SRMP.
11 Schools are strongly encouraged to include local law enforcement agencies and emergency
12 management agencies in their tabletop exercises and drills. The purpose of the tabletop exercises
13 and drills shall be to permit participants to (i) discuss simulated emergency situations in a
14 low-stress environment, (ii) clarify their roles and responsibilities and the overall logistics of
15 dealing with an emergency, and (iii) identify areas in which the SRMP needs to be modified.
16 …
17 (d) The Departmen