Black students and students with disabilities are disproportionately referred for behavioral threat assessments¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2025 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? In the large-scale Virginia study, male students, Black students, and students with disabilities were more likely to initially receive a threat assessment referral than their peers, even though disciplinary outcomes did not differ by race or gender. → DePaoli 2025 q2 i? In Florida statewide data, Black students and students with disabilities were disproportionately referred for BTAs. → DePaoli 2025 (2)

Evidence¶

DePaoli 2025¶

DePaoli, J. L., & Loewe, S. B. (2025). Keeping schools safe? The research on behavioral threat assessments. Learning Policy Institute. https://doi.org/10.54300/808.437

q2 · i? · review · r2

Descriptive analysis of 1,865 threat assessment cases in statewide Virginia implementation found no differences in disciplinary outcomes by gender or race, but referral disparities: "male students, Black students, and students with disabilities were more likely initially to receive a threat assessment referral."

"However, the authors did find that male students, Black students, and students with disabilities were more likely initially to receive a threat assessment referral compared with their peers."

DePaoli 2025 (2)¶

DePaoli, J. L., & Loewe, S. B. (2025). Keeping schools safe? The research on behavioral threat assessments. Learning Policy Institute. https://doi.org/10.54300/808.437

q2 · i? · review · r2

The report's synthesis of Florida outcome studies (district data from 90% of districts, 2021–22) states that "Black students were disproportionately referred for BTAs, as were students with disabilities." No effect sizes are printed.

"Black students were disproportionately referred for BTAs, as were students with disabilities."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Learning Disabilities and Developmental Differences — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Related Claims¶

• Students with disabilities are suspended at more than twice the rate of students without disabilities, and Black students with disabilities face the highest risk at 19% — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
• BTA implementation data are often partial, inconsistent, or unreliable, hindering accountability at scale — related
• School resource officers have limited effects on school safety and increase suspensions, expulsions, police referrals, and arrests, with larger negative effects for Black students and students with disabilities — related
• Students of color and students with disabilities are disproportionately suspended and referred to law enforcement relative to their enrollment — related
• Male students received significantly higher rates of suspensions and referrals than female students — related
• Black students and students with disabilities are suspended at disproportionately high rates, and high-poverty schools are more likely to have a School Resource Officer — related
• In the sole Salem-Keizer study, team recommendations split evenly between social supports and surveillance, with racial differences in recommendation types — related
• Racial differences in suspension rates reflect policies and adult biases, not differences in behavior — related
• Randomized studies, as reviewed, find that students who make threats in CSTAG schools more often receive counseling and less often long-term suspension or transfer, with the largest changes in higher-fidelity schools — related
• Schools using the CSTAG model show fewer disciplinary infractions, suspensions, expulsions, and law enforcement actions than schools using general threat assessment approaches — related
• Exclusionary discipline disproportionately affects students of color from low-income families and students with disabilities, who receive harsher penalties than peers for similar behaviors — a broader claim this one bears on
• For the same types of infractions, Black students and students with disabilities were significantly more likely to receive out-of-school suspensions than other subgroups — a broader claim this one bears on