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County ESD trainer outlines behavioral safety-assessment process and local multiagency review
Summary
Kevin Pernell briefed the board on the county's behavioral safety-assessment model (SKA Cascade), explaining level-one building teams, level-two county reviews, case examples and how schools use individualized safety plans and community resources to prevent targeted violence.
Kevin Pernell, school-safety and prevention specialist at the Mounture Education Service District, explained the behavioral safety-assessment process TVCC and Nyssa schools use to evaluate and manage concerning student behavior.
Pernell said immediate, credible threats should go directly to law enforcement; otherwise building teams should convene to determine whether to do a level-one assessment. "If it's a serious threat...we're contacting law enforcement right away," he said, adding that level-one assessments should include at least three people — a building administrator, the SRO and a counselor — to avoid single-person decision pressure.
He described the SKA Cascade model and its objectives: assess risk, organize resources and maintain psychological safety. The assessment includes interviews with the student of concern, teachers, parents and witnesses; teachers complete questionnaires and the team drafts an individualized safety plan where warranted. Pernell gave examples of safety-plan elements: parent dropoff, SRO-conducted backpack checks and supervised class time for students under monitoring.
Pernell emphasized prevention and "see something, say something," noting the pathway to violence often shows grievance, planning, preparation and leakage. He described county-level (level-two) teams that include school representatives, state and local police, the county sheriff, DHS juvenile services and Lifeways mental-health providers; those teams meet biweekly to review cases and issue recommendations. "We only make recommendations. We can't require any school to do anything," Pernell said, adding the district retains final authority, including decisions to expel.
Board members thanked Pernell for the overview and the district said it relies on the trained teams for early intervention and monitoring. The presentation focused on prevention strategies and available community resources to support students and families.
