Michigan K-12 Schools Must Have Behavioral Threat Assessment Teams

Michigan schools are now required to have behavioral threat assessment and management (BTAM) teams under a school safety law adopted following the 2021 Oxford High School shooting.

As of Oct. 1, each K-12 school covered by the law must have a multidisciplinary team for identifying, assessing, and managing concerning behavior and potential threats of violence.

The requirement was established under Public Act 272 of 2024, part of a package of school safety legislation signed into law in January 2025.

Who Must Be Part of Michigan School BTAM Teams?

Each school's team must include, at minimum, a school administrator, a school mental health professional, and a school resource officer or other law enforcement official.

Michigan's approach emphasizes intervention rather than determining whether a student poses a threat. State guidance describes BTAM as a collaborative process for understanding the circumstances surrounding concerning behavior and identifying appropriate interventions and supports.

The Michigan State Police Office of School Safety also cautions against relying on profiles or assumptions about which students may become violent.

Requirement Followed Oxford High School Shooting

The BTAM requirement was among several school safety measures developed following the November 2021 shooting at Oxford High School, where four students were killed—Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Tate Myre, 16; and Hana St. Juliana, 14.

A bipartisan school safety task force formed after the shooting and developed recommendations addressing areas including mental health, physical security, school safety procedures, staffing, and violence prevention.

The resulting legislation also established additional school safety requirements, including standardized terminology for school emergencies and procedures for sharing information about potential threats.

Michigan Has Been Expanding BTAM Training

Although the statewide requirement took effect Oct. 1, behavioral threat assessment is not new to Michigan schools. Between 2022 and 2025, the Michigan State Police Office of School Safety hosted 51 BTAM training sessions attended by about 4,000 school employees, mental health professionals, and law enforcement representatives, according to the Detroit Free Press. The sessions were funded through a federal grant.

The Office of School Safety has also developed Michigan K-12 Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management (Mi-BTAM) training, while Michigan State University's Prevent 2 Protect program provides free BTAM training and additional support to schools.

Prevent 2 Protect Director Alyse Ley told the Free Press that the multidisciplinary approach is important because different professionals may each hold information about a student or situation without any one person having the complete picture.

Establishing a BTAM Team Is Only the First Step

Michigan's law establishes who must participate in a school's threat assessment team, but practitioners have emphasized that an effective BTAM program requires ongoing work.

In previous School Security Leadership reporting, NCSSD members pointed to the importance of periodically reviewing procedures, discussing scenarios, and ensuring team members remain familiar with their roles and responsibilities.

In a separate article on behavioral threat assessment interviews, a BTAM practitioner emphasized gathering information from multiple sources, avoiding premature conclusions, and using interviews to better understand the context surrounding concerning behavior.

Managing a Case Can Continue Long After the Initial Assessment

That need for continued management is also reflected in Michigan's approach. Alyse Ley, director of Michigan State University's Prevent 2 Protect program, told the Detroit Free Press that managing a student over time can be more difficult than the initial assessment. That work can involve coordinating services, monitoring changes in behavior, and working with families and outside providers.

Prevent 2 Protect provides more intensive support in five Michigan regions, including case management and mentoring for students referred to the program. Case managers help students and families access services in the community, while mentors work directly with students.

The new Michigan law does not provide funding specifically for BTAM training or support materials, according to the Detroit Free Press. The newspaper also reported that schools are not required to report to the state whether they have established their required teams.

Michigan is not the only state to recently expand its approach to behavioral threat assessment. Georgia rolled out a statewide BTAM model in September for public and private K-12 schools, providing a framework schools can use to develop and implement local programs.