A collaborative effort involving Michigan public schools, the state, and Michigan State University may well be saving lives and reducing violence in schools.
MSU's Prevent 2 Protect program Director Alyse Folino Ley told The Detroit News that in its first year, specialists were able to intervene and stop two planned school attacks — a case of abuse where the victimized student had access to firearms and a possible suicide.
The News reported that a nonparticipating Michigan school district was recently the site of a student writing up a kill list, but another student reported the incident, and intervention prevented the threat from being played out.
The program is expanding in Michigan with the addition of a suburban Detroit district. Since it began in 2022, the program has received 69 referrals for high-risk middle and high school students.
The News reported the referrals fell into several categories, including a student threatening to bring a firearm into a school, pretending possession of a firearm while at school, making a bomb threat, or making a hit list. Students who commit an assault at a school are also referred to program specialists for intervention.
The MSU program website described the work as involving experts in four key areas: "psychiatry, social work, education, and law enforcement come together to support this multidisciplinary project."
The program is also being used as a framework to help all Michigan schools develop their plans to deal with identifying threats and managing each case. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a related package of bills into law, requiring plans by no later than October of next year.
Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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