With every new case of school violence, district leaders are urged to be proactive in hopes of averting potential violence. Experts say part of that proactive work comes from a threat assessment plan that every district should have. While every district that receives funds from the U.S. Department of Education for school safety is required to have a crisis management plan--which includes plans for any emergency, such as natural disasters and terrorist acts--districts are not yet required to have a threat assessment plan. A threat assessment plan will vary from district to district, but overall it is a structured plan that is set in motion after someone witnesses or hears a threat. That person then is encouraged to report it to a teacher or another adult. From there, the incident should be reported to the school principal and then to the security director's office for review. If it involves a middle or high level risk, such as an assault or death threat, then it is reported to law enforcement agencies. The threat assessment plan uses specific strategies to determine both the credibility and seriousness of a threat and the likelihood it will be carried out, according to the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP). In this article, the author discusses the need to have a threat assessment plan in every district and describes some basic components of effective threat assessment procedures that any district can use.