Utah lawmakers hear that school threat assessments are carried out inconsistently
The committee took no action, heard closed-session testimony and plans to consider new laws in the 2027 session.
Based on reporting by KUTV 2News (CBS). Read the original story →
Utah lawmakers heard Wednesday that schools do not consistently carry out required threat assessments after identifying a credible threat, KUTV reported. The testimony came before the Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice interim committee. [1]
Rep. Ryan Wilcox said state law requires a multidisciplinary assessment whenever a school identifies a credible threat, but the steps are not consistently followed. He called threat assessments "one of the last gaping holes." [1]
State Security Chief Matt Pennington described two gaps. The first is assembling the multidisciplinary team correctly. The second is that once a threat is recognized, it is often unclear who tracks the student, and he described cases in which students left school without a crime occurring despite significant warning signs. [1]
The committee held a closed session on an ongoing investigation and took no formal action. Lawmakers plan to consider new laws in the 2027 legislative session. [1]
Sources
This story was written by AI from the report by KUTV 2News (CBS), which has the full story. How we write stories.