The United States is struggling with how to prevent the relatively new phenomenon of mass shootings or attacks, many of them occurring in schools. Colorado addressed this by passing the Claire Davis School Safety Act that allows individuals harmed in acts of school violence to sue the school districts where the incidents occurred. This law intends to help protect students and keep them safe in schools. However, the law not only adds an exception to Colorado's Governmental Immunity statute but also creates what are commonly known as threat assessments, which are used to identify potential threats in schools and to mitigate any problems or incidents before they occur. While this process seems safe and helpful on its face, threat assessments are difficult to implement and have the potential to cause serious harm to students. Threat assessments may target certain groups of students who are not actually threats but exhibit similar behaviors, such as students suffering from mental illnesses and students with disabilities. In addition, threat assessments will likely have a disproportionate effect on students of color and will strengthen the already dangerous connection between schools and the juvenile and criminal justice systems. Threat assessments in schools send the message that schools cannot be safe without increased security, increased police force, and increased fear about school attacks, but that message is incorrect. There are other ways to keep students safe while also protecting their right to a proper education and without causing additional harm. For example, an alternative to the Claire Davis School Safety Act is to create positive school climates where students feel safe, comfortable, and supported in their environments, and, therefore, are more likely to reach out for help before problems become larger issues. Most importantly, another alternative is to shift the focus from what schools can do to prevent these attacks to what state and national governments can do to prevent these attacks by placing the responsibility, not on administrators, teachers, and students, but on the industry that sells and regulates the weapon often used in school shootings--guns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]