Marion County Public School Board Receives Breakdown on Threat Management Metrics

OCALA, FL (352today.com) -The Marion County Public School Board received an update on the school district’s threat management metrics, at their administrative briefing and work session on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025.

MCPS Safe Schools’ Corey Taylor presented a follow-up to the behavioral threat assessment activity and threat management trends across Marion County public schools during the 2024-2025 school year.

During the 2024-2025 school year, the school district completed 1,171 behavioral threat assessments in response to reports of concerning or threatening behaviors. Those assessments were conducted in alignment with Florida’s Harm Prevention and Threat Management statutory framework, which emphasizes early identification, structured decision making and proportional responses that prioritize both safety and student support, said Taylor.

Managing and monitoring

During the presentation made by Safe Schools’ Coordinator Dennis McFatten in September, the board requested two specific follow-up items: that campus trends data be aligned to the district’s categorization of elementary and secondary grade levels, and that threat management dispositions be broken down by grade level, said Taylor, whose presentation was focused on directly addressing those requests.

“When a concern is reported, it’s first reviewed through a triage process conducted by the school-based threat management team chair,” said Taylor. “During triage, the chair evaluates objective factors such as credibility, intent, means, immediacy, warning signs, and available contextual information. Based on that review, cases generally fall into one of two pathways, summary closures, which occur when a concern is determined to be non-serious or easily resolved through an initial review and referral to the full school-based management team, which is reserved for cases that appear more serious, involve unresolved, underlying issues, present additional warning signs or indicate a need for coordinated monitoring and support through a student support management plan, commonly referred to as an SSMP.”

Of the 1,171 total behavioral threat assessments, the majority were resolved through summary closure, said Taylor. When those 938 summary closures were examined using the district’s elementary and secondary grade level categories, the data showed the following: 154 cases were closed as unfounded; 76 occurred at the elementary level and 78 at the secondary; 30 cases were summarily closed as self-harm-only referrals; 22 occurred at the elementary level and eight at the secondary level; 754 cases were summarily closed as cases of low level of concern, with no SSMP, with 530 cases of those occurring at the elementary level; and 219 at the secondary level. This distribution is consistent with developmental expectations.

Distinguishing details

Elementary campuses account for a larger volume of low level of concerns, many of which are impulsive, situational or quickly resolved through routine school-based interventions. At the secondary level, where overall volume decreases, concerns tend to be more nuanced and required closer review, said Taylor.

The board also requested a closer look at cases referred to the full school-based threat management team. There were 233 cases, representing 19.9 percent of all behavioral threat assessments, said Taylor. When those cases are examined by final disposition and aligned to elementary and secondary grade levels, the data shows there was a total of one case that was designated as unfounded, and that lone case occurred at the secondary level, with 64 cases being designated as low level of concern. Thirty-eight occurred at the elementary level and 26 at the secondary level, 154 cases were designated as medium level of concern, 75 at the elementary level, 79 at the secondary level, with 14 cases being designated as high level concern–six at the elementary level and eight at the secondary level.

Positive impact 

Several key observations emerged from the breakdown, said Taylor. Even among the cases that were referred for full evaluation, the overwhelming majority didn’t rise to a high level of concern. High level cases represented approximately 1.2 percent of all threat assessments district-wide, indicating that the system is identifying concerns early and applying intensive interventions only when clearly warranted. Medium level cases composed the largest share of full evaluations. These cases often involved students with highly identifiable stressors or warning signs, but no imminent intent. These cases are precisely the type that structured supports, monitoring and collaboration are most effective in preventing escalation.

While elementary schools generate a higher overall volume of assessments, secondary school cases are proportionately more likely to require full evaluation reinforcing the maintaining of strong threat management practices across all grade levels.

Florida’s Harm Prevention and Threat Management framework is enabling early intervention, informed decision making, and student-centered responses that prioritize both safety and well-being, said Taylor.