Published on: February 2, 2026
A Joint NABITA and ATIXA Tip of the Week by Aaron L. Austin, Ed.D., and Mandy Hambleton, M.S.
The Behavioral Intervention Team (BIT) and the Title IX team are two campus-based teams that sit at the intersection of safety and support, often serving the same students and employees in different ways. Although each team’s responsibilities are distinct, their missions intersect in meaningful ways.
Both the BIT and the Title IX team share the same foundational goals: supporting individuals in distress and maintaining a safe and healthy environment for students, employees, and visitors. Collaboration is key because they often interact with the same individuals for separate but related reasons.
Example A: Chris
- Chris is a party to a formal Title IX complaint and shared that he has experienced recent suicidal ideation and that his alcohol use has escalated.
The ideation and alcohol use are areas where the BIT can provide critical support. FERPA permits limited information sharing within an institution when there is a legitimate educational interest, which can typically be determined by asking, “Does the individual need to know the information in order to fulfill their job responsibilities?” Institutions that define clear protocols around what is shared, when, and with whom set the stage for consistent, supportive responses. So, when the Title IX team learns about this from Chris, during its investigation, it is empowered to share those concerns with the BIT.
For instance, the Title IX team may have already helped Chris with supportive measures such as a No Contact order, housing change, or safety planning. Sharing this information with the BIT can help both teams to avoid duplicative efforts and ensure campus partners are on the same page. Knowing the other individual(s) involved in Chris’s complaint could be helpful for the BIT. However, it may not be necessary for the BIT to know every intimate detail of the Title IX complaint. Details of an ongoing investigation should be shared only when necessary.
Example B: Nicole
- Nicole is referred to the BIT for disruptive behavior. During a meeting with a BIT Case Manager, she discloses that she is having trouble coping because she is being “sexually harassed by a TA” (Teaching Assistant). Because the Case Manager is a mandated reporter and the Title IX office is responsible for addressing all reports of sexual harassment, the disclosure must be referred to the Title IX office, in addition to the current BIT involvement.
To manage this situation forward, the teams will need to work together, with the Title IX team focusing on the cause and the BIT on the effects. Without an integrated, coordinated approach, any solution will be incomplete.
Thus, the BIT and the Title IX team should coordinate their efforts rather than working in silos. The Case Manager may continue meeting with Nicole to address concerns related to the BIT referral for disruptive behavior. The Title IX team may meet with Nicole to discuss supportive measures, reporting options, and any applicable resolution process for the alleged sexual harassment. Helping Nicole to cope lies at the intersection of each team’s responsibilities.
Purposeful communication between the Case Manager and the Title IX team will help to ensure that interventions are effective and responsive to new information. For example, if the Title IX team facilitates moving Nicole to a different course section, informing the Case Manager can help support her through the change in her schedule and routine. Similarly, if Nicole discloses during a follow-up Case Management meeting that the TA is now attempting to contact her via text message, the Case Manager can assist Nicole in relaying that information to the Title IX team for implementation of a No Contact Order, or modifications to the terms of an existing No Contact Order if it is not robust enough. The Case Manager and Title IX team can and should share information that is focused and necessary to promote safety and reduce risk, without delving into unnecessary procedural details.
Assessing the Risk of Violence
Collaboration becomes even more critical when there are immediate safety concerns present. A Violence Risk Assessment (VRA) can bring together the BIT’s expertise in risk and threat assessment with the Title IX team’s compliance and due process responsibilities. Together, these perspectives help institutions make well-informed decisions about emergency removals, the need for a Title IX coordinator to sign a complaint, or the assessment and implementation of other protective measures. Typically, the Title IX coordinator would reach out to the BIT after complaint intake to catalyze the BIT to conduct a VRA, the results of which the BIT would then share with the Title IX coordinator. The coordinator then uses the VRA results to determine the immediacy of the need for emergency removal or other actions.
Consider a situation involving intimate partner violence where the BIT has background knowledge about a student’s past safety concerns. The Title Coordinator can use the BIT’s risk assessment to inform their decision on the appropriate protective measures. The BIT can assist in implementing safety planning measures based on the assessed risk level. Together, they build a stronger, more coordinated plan for student safety through collaboration.
Serving in the Middle Circle
Teams that follow NABITA’s Standards for Behavioral Intervention Teams often have a Title IX team representative serve as a middle circle member on the BIT. This is a best practice. All middle circle members should receive the BIT meeting agenda in advance of meetings so they can attend when their perspective is directly relevant to a case. Review our NABITA Tip of the Week on Standards 4 and 5 for further guidance.
Understanding Your Roles
The BIT and Title IX team have different responsibilities, yet their purposes do not compete; instead, they complement each other, and each should be able to rely on the other’s expertise. Both the BIT and Title IX team benefit from shared training and clear documentation. Here are a few tips to remember:
- Protocols for information sharing should be included in both the BIT and Title IX team’s standard operating procedures.
- The Title IX representative should understand how the BIT functions and when BIT referrals are necessary for Title IX matters.
- BIT members should be familiar with Title IX mandates, limitations, and training requirements, as well as the specific ways that the Title IX team uses VRA results to inform its decisions.
When the teams work in isolation, they risk duplicative, inconsistent, or incomplete responses to student needs. But when these two areas coordinate, institutions are better positioned to protect community members, respond effectively to misconduct, and potentially reduce the risk of an individual engaging in harm to self or others. The school community thereby benefits from a safer, healthier, and more supportive learning environment for everyone.
NABITA and ATIXA members: Join us Friday, February 6, 2026, for a virtual Talking BITs/Time with IX session. We will explore the intersections of BIT and Title IX teams, focusing on risk assessment, support, and interventions. Register now.
NABITA and ATIXA host joint in-person events throughout the year. Save the date for upcoming NABITA and ATIXA events.