What the Data Is Telling Us

Each school year brings its own set of pressures, and 2024-25 is no exception. National incident data and threat assessment reports from the past year point to a continued rise in pre-attack planning behaviors among students, a growing number of weapons found on campuses, and increased mental health referrals that outpace the capacity of school counseling staff. These are not isolated signals. They form a pattern that school leaders need to understand as a whole.

Alongside physical safety concerns, districts are also contending with a rise in cybersecurity incidents targeting school systems. From phishing attacks on staff accounts to ransomware disruptions of student information systems, the threat environment has expanded beyond the campus perimeter. Schools that plan only for physical emergencies are leaving a significant gap in their overall preparedness posture.

Threat Assessment as a Prevention Backbone

One of the clearest trends across the 2023-24 school year was how often thwarted incidents traced back to a functioning threat assessment process. Students reported concerning behavior, staff escalated the report, and a team was able to intervene before harm occurred. This is exactly how prevention is supposed to work, and it reinforces why every school needs a trained, multidisciplinary threat assessment team in place before the year begins.

Effective threat assessment is not just about identifying who poses a risk. It is about understanding the circumstances around that risk and connecting students to appropriate support. Teams should include a school administrator, a mental health professional, and a law enforcement liaison at minimum. Regular case reviews and refresher training keep the team sharp and consistent in their decision-making across the year.

For 2024-25, districts should audit whether all school-based threat assessment teams have been trained, whether team membership has changed due to staff turnover, and whether documentation protocols are being followed consistently. These administrative checkpoints are easy to defer but costly to skip.

Staffing Challenges and Training Gaps

High staff turnover in schools has created a persistent training gap. New teachers and support staff often arrive without foundational safety training, and onboarding programs frequently prioritize curriculum and compliance over emergency preparedness. The result is that the people most likely to be first on the scene during a crisis are also the least prepared to respond.

Schools can close this gap with a tiered training approach. All staff should complete basic emergency response orientation before the first day of school. Staff in higher-risk roles, such as front office personnel, security staff, and coaches, should receive more in-depth training on topics like lockdown procedures, medical emergencies, and behavioral threat recognition. Specialist training for threat assessment team members comes on top of that.

Action Steps to Take Before School Starts

With the start of the 2024-25 school year approaching, there are several concrete actions school leaders can take now. First, pull your emergency operations plan and confirm it reflects current staffing, updated contact information, and any facility changes from the summer. Plans that have not been reviewed since last year may reference staff members who have left or rooms that no longer serve the same function.

Second, schedule your first drill of the year early. Schools that conduct lockdown or evacuation drills in the first month of school tend to have better staff recall and faster response times when incidents occur later in the year. Drills should be followed by a structured debrief so that gaps can be addressed while the experience is still fresh.

Third, confirm your community communication protocols. Parents and guardians expect timely, accurate information during a crisis. If your notification system, social media guidelines, or reunification process has not been tested recently, now is the time to review it. Clear communication planning reduces confusion and maintains trust during high-stress situations.