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1999 SESSION

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SB 1250 Suicide prevention in public schools.

Introduced by: Stephen D. Newman | all patrons    ...    notes | add to my profiles

SUMMARY AS PASSED: (all summaries)

Suicide prevention in public schools. Requires licensed school personnel who have, in the scope of their employment, reason to believe, as a result of direct communication from a student, that a student is at imminent risk of suicide, to contact, as soon as practicable, at least one of a student’s parents to ask whether the parent is aware of the student’s mental state and whether the parent wishes to obtain or has already obtained counseling for such student. If the student has indicated that parental abuse or neglect is the reason for contemplating suicide, the contact with the parent will not be made, and the licensed school administrator or teacher must immediately notify the local or state social services agency. The notifying person must stress that immediate action is necessary to protect the child from harm. The Board of Education, in cooperation with the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services and the Department of Health, must develop guidelines for making the contact with the parents which must include (i) criteria to assess the suicide risks of students, (ii) characteristics to identify potentially suicidal students, (iii) appropriate responses to students expressing suicidal intentions, (iv) available and appropriate community services for students expressing suicidal intentions, (v) suicide prevention strategies which may be implemented by local schools for students expressing suicidal intentions, (vi) criteria for notification of and discussions with parents of students expressing suicidal intentions, (vii) criteria for as-soon-as-practicable contact with the parents, (viii) appropriate sensitivity to religious beliefs, and (ix) the legal requirements and criteria for notification of public service agencies, including, but not limited to, the local or state social services and mental health agencies. The guidelines may include case studies and problem-solving exercises and may be designed as materials for in-service training programs for licensed administrative and instructional personnel. The first guidelines must be developed, published and distributed by October 1, 1999. No person will be required to comply with the requirements of this act until the guidelines are distributed to the local school divisions.


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