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Mount Pleasant school board reviews new threat‑assessment policy, asks for clearer linkage to state protocol
Summary
Board members reviewed a new district threat‑assessment and response policy (No. 57‑14), discussed whether to cite the state protocol and to spell out multidisciplinary team roles, and directed staff to follow up with legal or vendor (Troon) citations and a redrafted paragraph on when single‑reading adoption would be allowed.
The Mount Pleasant Public School Board of Education reviewed a new threat‑assessment and response policy (policy 57‑14) and discussed how much procedural detail to include in the policy text.
The draft designates the superintendent as the district threat‑assessment coordinator and says trained multidisciplinary teams — including building administrators and mental‑health professionals — will carry out assessments. Board members said the policy, as drafted, references BTAM training recommended by the Michigan State Police but does not explicitly cite the state law or list the district's expectations for the threat‑assessment protocol.
“BTAM is very easily searchable on the MSP website,” the superintendent said when members asked where readers could find the training protocol. Several board members said they preferred referencing an external standard rather than embedding sensitive operational details in a publicly posted policy.
Board members pressed for clear language that the district will use multidisciplinary teams and that threat‑assessment protocols will include procedures for conducting and documenting assessments and for developing intervention plans. One member suggested adding a short clause to make it clear the board expects evidence‑based behavioral approaches and that school resource officers or other law‑enforcement partners may be involved when appropriate. Another member recommended citing the applicable state law or agency guidance in the policy footer so the public can find the controlling requirements.
Members also raised wording choices in the draft that could downplay certain threats; one asked whether a sentence that reads, in effect, that weapons are “sometimes, but rarely” involved should be rephrased to avoid minimizing possible risks.
Next steps: the superintendent said staff would follow up with Troon (the policy vendor) and provide suggested wording and any required statutory citations for the board to consider at a future meeting. The board did not take a final vote on the policy at this session.
