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In K-12 schools, no one is more important than the school counselor when it comes to counseling students who are suicidal.
The school counselor is the point of contact for teachers & administrators in dealing with suicidal ideation & they are also responsible for training school staff in suicidal ideation procedures & protocols for their campus & district.
As a counselor, effectively dealing with suicidal students is important & anxiety laden. Perhaps more than any other part of responsive services, "getting this right" is necessary when dealing with suicidal ideation. This padlet is designed to address emerging school counselors & administrators to give them an overview of how to ethically & appropriately counsel suicidal students.

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How do you stay current on laws, ethics & PD related to suicidal ideation?
Closely follow the legislature when they are in session to make sure we stay current on any laws that may effect school counselors. Then, we turn that around to districts in an annual legislative update where we specifically address legal issues & updates.
What can counselors do to be prepared to deal with suicidal students?
Familiarize yourself with any district protocols for dealing with suicidal students. Attend regular professional development concerning self harm & suicide. Join counseling organizations for a network of support from other counselors.
What resources does Region XI offer to support districts with suicidal ideation?
We offer a legislative update each year to address any changes to law. We also bring in guest speakers to address this & other topics & we have a counselor PLC so that counselors can network & share strategies & best practices.
Interview with Dr. Sandy Benevidez, Region XI Counselor Coach

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The American School Counselor Association provides a free guide for schools to implement suicide prevention programs. The guide is full of research-based best practices for school counselors & school districts.

Citation:
Model school district policy on suicide prevention: Model language, commentary, and resources. (2019). American School Counselor Association. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/9b28c170-607a-428f-9dae-619850fa531b/Model-School-District-Policy-Suicide-Prevention.pdf

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Schools are seeing more incidents of suicide since the pandemic started

Schools struggle with protecting students' physical health against COVID by keeping schools online & their mental health by keeping students isolated at home

A hospital in Indianapolis saw a 250% increase in student suicide risk over a year; these statistics are a troubling trend across the country

Students struggle with mental health without resources because they are isolated at home; school personnel are not able to identify students at risk because of a lack of face to face & synchronous learning

Despite the suicide crisis in students, many mental health providers are viewing this as an opportunity to innovate the services they provide to students to meet them where they are

Citation:
Chatterjee, R. (2021, February 2). Child psychiatrists warn that the pandemic may be driving up kids' suicide risk. NPR. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/02/02/962060105/child-psychiatrists-warn-that-the-pandemic-may-be-driving-up-kids-suicide-risk

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For ways to help kids at risk, read Part 2 of this story.
If you or someone you know may be considering suicide, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (en español: 1-888-628-9454; deaf and hard of hearing: dial 711, then 1-800-273-8255) or the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.

Anthony Orr was almost done with his high school coursework when the governor of Nevada ordered a statewide shutdown of nonessential businesses on March 17, 2020.

"He was looking forward to all of the senior activities, prom and graduation," says his mother, Pamela Orr. But all he got was a "mini [graduation] ceremony," with only a handful of students walking, wearing masks and at a distance from each other.

"That was the most we could do because of COVID," she says.

Anthony graduated with honors as he had planned to, wearing a white robe and cap and an advanced honors sash, says Pamela. But he decided against going to college.

"Right now ... it's all online, and you just lose the whole college experience," she says.

Instead, he got a job working in construction. His parents thought he was doing fine. "He seemed happy to us," says Pamela. "He seemed happy."

But in August of last year, Anthony died by suicide.

While Pamela and her husband, Marc, struggle to come to terms with their loss, his school district in Las Vegas is trying to come to grips with the troubling statistic his death is part of.

He was one of 19 students who died by suicide in the district since the shutdown last March. Thirteen of those deaths occurred since July.

"There's a sense of urgency," says Jesus Jara, the superintendent of the Clark County School District. "You know, we have a problem."

Suicide is complex, involving layers of risk factors, including biological and environmental ones. And it's hard to know the exact factors involved in the deaths of these 19 students.

But the sudden rise in deaths has school district officials worried that the coronavirus pandemic may have played a role. And educators and mental health care providers in other parts of the United States have the same concern.

In recent months, many suicidal children have been showing up in hospital emergency departments, and more kids are needing in-patient care after serious suicide attempts.

"Across the country, we're hearing that there are increased numbers of serious suicidal attempts and suicidal deaths," says Dr. Susan Duffy, a professor of pediatrics and emergency medicine at Brown University.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between April and October 2020, hospital emergency departments saw a rise in the share of total visits that were from kids for mental health needs.

Now, there are no nationwide numbers on suicide deaths in 2020 yet, and researchers have yet to clearly link recent suicides to the pandemic. Yet on the ground, there's growing concern.

NPR spoke with providers at hospitals in seven states across the country, and all of them reported a similartrend: More suicidal children are coming to their hospitals - in worse mental states.

"The kids that we are seeing now in the emergency department are really at the stage of maybe even having tried or attempted or have a detailed plan," says Dr. Vera Feuer, director of pediatric emergency psychiatry at Cohen Children's Medical Center of Northwell Health in New York. "And we're admitting to the hospital more kids than usual because of how unwell they are."

She has seen a slight increase in 10-to-11-year-olds attempting, but the majority of kids she sees are teenagers.

Other places are seeing a rise in 2020 numbers compared with 2019 as well.

The number of kids with suicide attempts coming to the emergency room at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland, in California, in the fall of 2020 was double the number in the fall of 2019, says Marisol Cruz Romero, a psychologist and the coordinator for the hospital's behavioral emergency response team.

At Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, the number of children and teens hospitalized after suicide attempts went up from 67 in 2019 to 108 in 2020. And October 2020 saw a 250% increase in these numbers over the previous October, says Hillary Blake, a pediatric psychologist at the hospital.

Psychiatrists and other doctors who work with children say the pandemic has created a perfect storm of stressors for kids, increasing the risk of suicide for many. It has exacerbated an ongoing children's mental health crisis - suicide rates had already been going up for almost a decade among children and youth.
Suicide can be prevented, and family members can play a role in keeping kids well. For ways to help kids at risk, Loss of critical in-person support services read Part 2 of this story.
The problems brought on by the pandemic, they say, only highlight the weaknesses in the mental health safety net for children - and point to an urgent need for new solutions.

"The stories that we hear day by day in the emergency department really speak to us about the level of difficulties, the layers of traumas and the real problems that families are facing," says Feuer.

Many young people, like Anthony Orr, have no diagnosis or known history of mental illness when they start struggling with thoughts of suicide.

But the children who are most vulnerable right now, says Duffy, are the ones with underlying physical or mental illness, because the pandemic has disrupted in-person services they relied on in communities and at school.

"They have difficulties with their mood or difficulties with learning or socialization or medical issues," says Feuer. "And now you have other layers of difficulties on top of that. These are the kids we see in real hopeless moments."

Before the pandemic, many of these children were "relatively stable in the community with outpatient resources," says Duffy.

For example, Duffy saw a 13-year-old in her ER recently who had underlying anxiety and depression. The at-home and in-school services she relied on had been suspended.
Falling off the radar
Without those supports, her mental health worsened and she started to fall behind at school, says Duffy. The girl turned to self-harm and eventually attempted suicide.

"It was her [older] teenage sister who found her in the bathroom and who called their mother, who had to leave work," says Duffy.

Feuer recalls seeing a 14-year-old last fall who began to struggle at school after developing a medical issue that hadn't been properly diagnosed because of pandemic-related delays in care. He was in constant pain and couldn't focus on schoolwork, she says.

On top of that, the pandemic had taken away his access to sports, "which was his world and life," says Feuer. "And then he looks at you and says, 'What's the point? What do I have to look forward to? You tell me, what do I have to be hopeful about?' "

Another layer of risk right now is that virtual schooling has made it much harder for teachers and school counselors to identify and help students who are struggling.

When Nevada shut down last March and the Clark County School District switched to virtual learning, Colleen Neely, a counselor at Shadow Ridge High School, on the outskirts of Las Vegas, tried her best to stay connected with her students by email.

But it wasn't as easy as being in the school together, she says.

"There are just extra barriers," says Neely. "We're not there just in passing, or they can't go to their teacher and be like, 'Hey, I want to see my counselor.' They can't stop in at lunch. They have to make that effort with an email or clicking on a computer to make an appointment."

In May, Neely's supervisor called her to give her the news that one of her favorite students had died.

"He was a smart ... shy kind of kid," says Neely. "Very kind, polite and respectful."

She was used to seeing him every day as he would stop by her office to check in. She says he had been homeless for a while and had some emotional struggles too. The school had eventually found him a family to live with.

And he'd been doing really well when the school switched to virtual learning, says Neely.

"He was passing all of his classes, going to earn the highest-level diploma that we offer at our school. So he was in a really good place," she says.
Social isolation
She was devastated to hear that he'd taken his own life.

"I'd just sent him an email, telling him how proud I was of him," Neely says. "And that he was almost there. And the next phase of his life was going to start."

Neely doesn't know the exact circumstances that led to his death. But she knew he was at risk because of his past struggles. And she wonders if someone could have helped him if the pandemic hadn't upended everything.

"Part of me will always question, if we had been in the building - and if he had been able to just see another adult, his friends, possibly talk to me - if things would have been different."

Losing the in-person interactions of life at school is itself a big risk factor.

"The vast majority of my patients want to go back to school, miss the social contacts, miss the life that they have," says Dr. Richard Martini, a professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at the University of Utah. "I mean, these kids really do have a separate life in school that's important to them."

It's among the reasons that the American Academy of Pediatrics is encouraging school districts to aim to bring back students into classrooms safely.
New kinds of stress at home
"There's a level of social isolation for these kids ... that they have not experienced before," Martini adds.

That isolation isn't just because schools are closed but also because the pandemic has restricted people's social lives. And that has a big impact, especially for kids in communities where extended family networks matter a lot, like where Romero, of UCSF's Oakland Children's Hospital, works.

"Many of our patients that do have a mental health history, they really depend on extended family to be able to support them," she says. "And that's been really challenging lately."

And social isolation is "one of the highest risk factors," for suicide, she says.

Amid the upheaval of the pandemic, the home environment has become unstable for many kids, says Martini, pointing to job and income loss as major stressors.

Especially vulnerable are kids from families hit hardest by the pandemic among communities of color.

"Either they had the virus, they lost people to the virus or they're impacted because they are a minority and their community ... [has suffered] losses over losses," says Feuer.

Dr. Warren Ng, a child psychiatrist at Columbia University Medical Center, says one of his patients, a boy, told him he wanted to die after watching his father die from COVID-19.

Romero also recalls suicidal kids she has seen recently who have lost family members to the virus or have parents who are currently sick and hospitalized.

"Families who have lost family members, parents who have lost jobs, kids who have lost contact with people who are close to them, children who have experienced some significant challenges at school," says Martini. "All of these experiences are fairly traumatic."
Suicide can be prevented, and family members can play a role in keeping kids well. For ways to help kids at risk, Thinking about prevention read Part 2 of this story.
A child faced with these layers of difficulties can easily start to feel overwhelmed, he says.

"They may also be in a position where they feel they can't talk to anybody, even their parents," he says. "And as the number of solutions for that situation dwindle, they may begin to think that I'd rather be dead than sort through this."

Especially when there is so much uncertainty around when the pandemic will end.

"I think it's the coupling of those things that are pretty daunting for a lot of our youth," says Dr. Nasuh Malas, a psychiatrist and pediatrician at the University of Michigan. "I mean, these are kids, right?"

In Clark County, the school district is grappling with what it can do to prevent more suicides. Last July, it started using a software that alerts staff when it identifies at-risk students by monitoring their online activity. The staff then contact parents and offer support.

"We're trying to find kids that are just the 'silent screamers,' " says Jesus Jara, the district superintendent.

In October, the district hosted a series of listening sessions with parents and other stakeholders to try to understand what's going on with student mental health and how to help. Based on the feedback it received, it is in the process of bringing some kids back to in-person school in small groups for academic and social and emotional support.
A crisis, but also an opportunity
Nearly six months since their son died, Marc and Pamela Orr are still struggling to cope with their trauma and grief.

"Sleep is elusive," says Pamela. "Any time can be a hard time. I mean, I can be in the grocery store, and I see his favorite breakfast cereal, and I just have to stop what I'm doing and just leave because anything, everything can be a trigger for the intense sadness."

To cope, she and her husband go on long walks every day. They are also seeing a therapist for the first time and talking to other parents of youth who died by suicide. And in the process, they find themselves asking questions about suicide and mental health that they'd never asked before.

For example, why don't schools and workplaces talk more openly about mental health and suicide?

"At work, we have all these tools - hard hats, gloves and glasses" to safely work with electricity, says Marc, who's a crew foreman for NV Energy. "We have nothing for mental health. ... It's not talked about. Everybody turns a blind eye to it because it's taboo, it's icky."

He also wonders why schools don't have mental wellness checks for students. "They get well-checks, you know," he says. "Insurance pays for a well-check. But there's not any mental [health] screening that's done or emotional screening."

The rise in mental health problems among children should spur the country to fix its mental health care system, argues Dr. Jennifer Havens, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at New York University.

"Crisis is often an opportunity," she says.

To start, the U.S. should provide routine mental health checks for kids from a young age and their families, she says: "It should be just part of what we do to keep people well."

Hospitals and behavioral health care providers are already required to do depression screenings for adolescents, she says; schools should also be doing these screenings.

"We have to be able to identify the kids ... particularly for getting kids who are in early stages before they're really sick, and help them," says Havens. "You don't have to wait until kids try to kill themselves."

And mental health care providers can help teachers learn to spot the early signs of problems, says Martini.

The solutions aren't just at schools. We also need better access to mental health care services for kids, says Martini.

"There is an incredible backlog in getting children mental health services," he says. "If I had all the money in the world, I think what I would do is really invest in a broad scope of services for teenagers and children."

Those services would include day treatment programs that are less intense than in-patient units and can diagnose a child's problems. He would also expand access to telepsychiatry and create more programs that send mental health care workers into people's homes.

But the biggest roadblock in making all this a reality is a lack of parity in insurance coverage for mental and physical health, says Havens.

"There are a lot of preventive interventions that are effective," she says. "But the way the [mental health care] system is set up, we can't actually get paid to do that."

Ultimately, the country needs to invest in kids' mental health, she adds. But, "there's no magic bullet here," she says. "We need to have a robust [mental health] care system ... and insurance companies need to pay for it."

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Child Psychiatrists Warn That The Pandemic May Be Driving Up Kids' Suicide Risk

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For ways to help kids at risk, read Part 2 of this story . If you or someone you know may be considering suicide, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (en español: 1-888-628-9454; deaf and hard of hearing: dial 711, then 1-800-273-8255) or the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.

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The city of San Francisco is suing the San Francisco school district to get schools to open, citing rising numbers of suicidal students

The city argued that San Francisco Unified School District was hurting student mental health by keeping schools closed

The city cited the CDC who said that vaccinated teachers are not a condition of opening schools

San Francisco has seen a 66% increase in student ER visits related to suicide

San Francisco unified has been allowed to be open since September, but has been in negotiations with the teacher's union in how best to open schools

Citation:
Guzman, J. (2021, February 12). San Francisco sues schools over record number of suicidal students. The Hill. https://thehill.com/changing-america/well-being/mental-health/538663-san-francisco-sues-schools-over-record-number-of

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The city of San Francisco says the number of suicidal children hit record highs as public schools remain closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Last week, the city took an unprecedented and sued its own school district over the continued closures that have kept San Francisco's more than 54,000 public school students out of the classroom since March 2020.
Our country is in a historic fight against the Coronavirus. Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news.
City Attorney Dennis Herrera argued in the lawsuit that reopening was safe and the San Francisco Unified School District was hurting students' mental health by keeping the facilities closed. The lawsuit also said school officials have yet to deliver a detailed plan for reopening, which is required by law.

In a motion filed in San Francisco Superior Court Thursday, Herrera provided testimony from hospitals and parents on the mental health effects the closures are allegedly having on children, according to The Associated Press (AP).

The lawsuit claims UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital has seen a 66 percent increase in the number of suicidal children who visited emergency rooms and a 75 percent increase in children who required hospitalization for mental health issues, AP reports. UCSF Children's Emergency Department at Mission Bay also saw record high numbers of suicidal children last month, according to the legal filing.

The city also cites testimony from parents. One mother said her 15-year-old daughter often cries in the middle of the day out of frustration, and she recently found her "curled up in a fetal position, crying, next to her laptop at 11 a.m.," according to the AP.

Another parent said her 7-year-old son has had "uncontrollable meltdowns," and her 10-year-old daughter is experiencing "depression and anger." She said she believes her daughter's mental health will continue to suffer until schools are reopened.

San Francisco schools have been allowed by law to reopen since September. But teachers' unions have said they will not return to in-person learning until they receive vaccinations and the district has yet to finalize a deal for reopening.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CORONAVIRUS RIGHT NOW AMERICANS WILL NEED TO WEAR MASKS FOR 'SEVERAL, SEVERAL MONTHS,' FAUCI SAYS TRUMP WAS MUCH SICKER WITH COVID-19 THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT, REPORT SAYS CDC SAYS IF YOU'RE VACCINATED YOU CAN SKIP COVID-19 QUARANTINES IS IT DANGEROUS OR SMART TO GET TWO DIFFERENT COVID-19 VACCINES? BIDEN SAYS TRUMP'S COVID-19 RESPONSE WAS 'EVEN MORE DIRE THAN WE THOUGHT'
"We wholeheartedly agree that students are better served with in-person learning," Laura Dudnick, the school district's spokeswoman, told AP. "We are eager for the city to make vaccines available to our staff."

On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released guidance on safely reopening schools, noting that while COVID-19 vaccination of teachers should be prioritized, it should not be considered a condition to reopening classrooms.

The agency's recommendations focus on universal mask wearing by students, staff and teachers as well as social distancing. The CDC said schools can adjust whether they will offer full in-person teaching or hybrid learning depending on the level of community spread.

"The science has demonstrated that schools can reopen safely prior to all teachers being vaccinated," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said Friday.

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San Francisco sues schools over record number of suicidal students

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The city of San Francisco says the number of suicidal children hit record highs as public schools remain closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Last week, the city took an unprecedented and sued its own school district over the continued closures that have kept San Francisco's more than 54,000 public school students out of the classroom since March 2020.

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Slide 6: Origin Source of Law-Constitutional

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Slide 6: Origin Source of Law-Constitutional

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The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
U.S. Const. Amend. X

Education is controlled by the state because the 10th amendment gives power to the states

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Note: The following text is a transcription of the enrolled original of the Joint Resolution of Congress proposing the Bill of Rights, which is on permanent display in the Rotunda at the National Archives Museum. The spelling and punctuation reflects the original.
On September 25, 1789, the First Congress of the United States proposed 12 amendments to the Constitution. The 1789 Joint Resolution of Congress proposing the amendments is on display in the Rotunda in the National Archives Museum. Ten of the proposed 12 amendments were ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures on December 15, 1791. The ratified Articles (Articles 3-12) constitute the first 10 amendments of the Constitution, or the U.S. Bill of Rights. In 1992, 203 years after it was proposed, Article 2 was ratified as the 27th Amendment to the Constitution. Article 1 was never ratified.

Transcription of the 1789 Joint Resolution of Congress Proposing 12 Amendments to the U.S. Constitution

Congress of the United States begun and held at the City of New-York, on Wednesday the fourth of March, one thousand seven hundred and eighty nine.

THE Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent ends of its institution.

RESOLVED by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two thirds of both Houses concurring, that the following Articles be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States, as amendments to the Constitution of the United States, all, or any of which Articles, when ratified by three fourths of the said Legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of the said Constitution; viz.

ARTICLES in addition to, and Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the Legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth Article of the original Constitution.

Article the first... After the first enumeration required by the first article of the Constitution, there shall be one Representative for every thirty thousand, until the number shall amount to one hundred, after which the proportion shall be so regulated by Congress, that there shall be not less than one hundred Representatives, nor less than one Representative for every forty thousand persons, until the number of Representatives shall amount to two hundred; after which the proportion shall be so regulated by Congress, that there shall not be less than two hundred Representatives, nor more than one Representative for every fifty thousand persons.

Article the second... No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.

Article the third... Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Article the fourth... A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Article the fifth... No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Article the sixth... The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Article the seventh... No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Article the eighth... In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

Article the ninth... In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Article the tenth... Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Article the eleventh... The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Article the twelfth... The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
ATTEST,
Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg, Speaker of the House of Representatives
John Adams, Vice-President of the United States, and President of the Senate
John Beckley, Clerk of the House of Representatives.
Sam. A Otis Secretary of the Senate
Amendments 11-27
The U.S. Bill of Rights

The Preamble to The Bill of Rights

Congress of the United States
begun and held at the City of New-York, on
Wednesday the fourth of March, one thousand seven hundred and eighty nine.

THE Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent ends of its institution.

RESOLVED by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two thirds of both Houses concurring, that the following Articles be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States, as amendments to the Constitution of the United States, all, or any of which Articles, when ratified by three fourths of the said Legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of the said Constitution; viz.

ARTICLES in addition to, and Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the Legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth Article of the original Constitution.

Note: The following text is a transcription of the first ten amendments to the Constitution in their original form. These amendments were ratified December 15, 1791, and form what is known as the "Bill of Rights."

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment III

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment V

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

Amendment VII

In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Amendment IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
Amendments 11-27
Note: The capitalization and punctuation in this version is from the enrolled original of the Joint Resolution of Congress proposing the Bill of Rights, which is on permanent display in the Rotunda of the National Archives Building, Washington, D.C.
Back to Main Bill of Rights Page

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Note: The following text is a transcription of the enrolled original of the Joint Resolution of Congress proposing the Bill of Rights, which is on permanent display in the Rotunda at the National Archives Museum. The spelling and punctuation reflects the original.

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Slide 7: Origin Source of Law- Statutory

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Slide 7: Origin Source of Law- Statutory

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Each school district shall have a district improvement plan that is developed, evaluated, and revised annually, in accordance with district policy, by the superintendent with the assistance of the district-level committee. Strategies for improvement of student performance, including suicide prevention programs, must be included in the plan.

11 Tex. Educ. Code § 252.3 (2011)

Each school district must have a district improvement plan

That plan must include a suicide prevention program

Parents & guardians must be notified about the suicide prevention program

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EDUCATION CODE CHAPTER 11. SCHOOL DISTRICTS

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Sec. 11.002. RESPONSIBILITY OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION. The school districts and charter schools created in accordance with the laws of this state have the primary responsibility for implementing the state's system of public education and ensuring student performance in accordance with this code.

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Slide 8: Origin Source of Law- Administrative

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Slide 8: Origin Source of Law- Administrative

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Texas Administrative Code requires the high school health curriculum to address strategies to prevent suicide.
19 Tex. Admin. Code § 115.31 (2017)

High school student taking a health course must learn about suicide prevention strategies

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The University of Texas at Arlington was involved in a case in 2019 where student Thomas Klocke committed suicide following disciplinary action resulting from a Title IX complaint. Klocke was accused of harassing a student in his class for being gay. Klocke was placed on probation & was not allowed to attend class.

Shortly after, Klocke committed suicide. Klocke's parents sued the University of Texas at Arlington for suffering & mental anguish that led to his suicide.

The Texas 5th circuit court ruled that UTA was justified in their punishment & was not responsible for Klocke's suicide.

Klocke v. The University of Texas at Arlington. 18-10857, (5th Cir, 2019).

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In my district, we have a Counseling & Guidance webpage that specifically acknowledges the Texas Education Code that requires us to provide suicide prevention curriculum to our students.

In collaboration with other district school counselors, we have also created a district-specific suicide prevention, intervention & postvention protocol that is housed on our internal drive.

Citation:
Counseling Resources (2020). Cleburne Independent School District. https://www.c-isd.com/Page/1027

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Counseling & Guidance / Counseling Resources

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Pecan Valley (MHMR) provides mental health servies for children & adolescents. Services include counseling, case management, psychiatric evaluation, medication training, behavior skills training & parent skills training. Pecan Valley provides services on a sliding scale & may make referrals to other local mental health resources & programs.

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School counselors may keep records of students who present suicidal ideation, but they should not keep those records beyond a reasonable scope of the student's enrollment in the district/campus.

The ASCA ethical standards make recommendations that counselors, in conjunction with their districts, establish a timeline for purging those records.

Citation:
Ethical standards for school counselors. (2016) American School Counseling Association.https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/f041cbd0-7004-47a5-ba01-3a5d657c6743/Ethical-Standards.pdf

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When I first became a school counselor & had my first suicidal student I was so anxious about "getting it right", but I quickly learned that our district did not have a defined protocol for effectively counseling suicidal students.

I worked with several of our district school counselors to build a suicide prevention, intervention & postvention protocol because I did not want another new counselors to have to go it on their own with a suicidal student.

The ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors says that counselors have a responsibility to provide effective, responsive interventions to students in need & I feel that the protocol we created does that.

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Counselors have an ethical obligation to provide effective intervention to suicidal students

Counselors should seek on-going professional development opportunities in suicide prevention & intervention

As the legislature meets, counselors should pay attention to updates that effect their practices in counseling suicidal students

School districts have an obligation to provide their students with suicide prevention curriculum & parents with notification about that curriculum

Professional organizations such as the American School Counselor Association provide counselors with free, comprehensive resources in implementing & maintaining suicide prevention plans

School districts are struggling to balance the mental health needs of their students with the physical safety needs of the pandemic. As a result, we are seeing more incidents of suicidal ideation in school aged children.