ATLANTA — A new statewide program is offering violence prevention training to public and private K-12 schools across Georgia in an effort to identify concerning behavior and potential threats before violence occurs.
The Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management model has been in development for six years through the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency. The model provides schools with training and a framework for identifying, assessing and managing behavioral threats.
“Our goal is to keep the school systems safe and prevent targeted violence,” Targeted Violence Prevention Coordinator Dave Shanks said.
Shanks said the program is designed to give school systems a process for responding to concerning behavior before it escalates.
“What we’re trying to do is have these school systems develop a systematic process for identifying, inquiring, assessing, and managing concerning behavior and potential threats, so that we can intervene before bad stuff happens,” Shanks said.
Shanks said preventing violence requires cooperation between schools, law enforcement and other agencies.
“It’s not something the school can do by itself. It’s not something law enforcement can do themselves; it takes communication, collaboration, and coordination for this to be effective,” Shanks said.
The statewide effort comes days after DeKalb County officials announced a separate $250,000 initiative aimed at preventing youth violence. The 12-week program for students in sixth through 12th grades focuses on topics including leadership, conflict resolution and behavior regulation.
The DeKalb County program has been in development for about a year and comes after the arrest of an 18-year-old in the killings of 11- and 12-year-old boys.
Violence in Georgia schools and among the state’s youth has also faced increased attention since the 2024 Apalachee High School shooting.
WSB Radio’s Ashley Simmons & Jordan D. Brown contributed to this story.