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I will be taking the perspective of a school counselor working for Fredericksburg Middle School (FMS).  This padlet can be used to educate the FMS crisis team members and teachers on the legal aspects and best practice when working with suicidal students.
This particular topic was chosen because there is a rising number of students with mental health issues, and suicide ideation is sadly very common in the secondary setting.  All involved with students need to know the legal implications as well as best practice to help keep the students safe as much as possible.

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Dawn Barron, FMS school counselor for over ten years was interviewed and shared her knowledge on working with suicidal students (D. Barron, personal communication, February, 2020).  She explains that knowing how to work with suicidal students is very important.  Educators and counselors need to understand how to read the signs of students who may be suicidal.  Once teachers recognize the signs, many do not feel comfortable to have the conversation beyond that.  During conversations with students with mental health issues, counselors need to be patient and comfortable to have those hard conversations with students and parents (D.Barron, personal communication, February, 2020).
Mrs. Barron explained that it is rare to get updates on court cases or legislation from the district.  However, this year, the safety committee has been meeting and includes all counselors in the district.  Concerns over procedures have come up, and changes have been made to the suicide protocol for FISD.  Mrs. Barron tries to stay current through counseling conferences and her subscription to counseling organization magazines.  It is clear that mental health concerns are on the rise and topics about how it effects students need to be sought out in preparation for dealing with suicidal students (D. Barron, personal communication, February, 2020).
According to Mrs. Barron, best practice for dealing with suicidal students include the following.

Stay calm and do not show too much emotion when the student discusses their suicide ideation.

Ask direct questions about the student's suicidal thoughts (how, when, and where).

Communicate with parents.

Create a plan including giving references to outside help (D. Barron, personal communication, February, 2020).

https://www.fisd.org/Page/15

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American School Counselor Association (ASCA) blogged about the importance of contacting parents in the case of possible suicide ideation and the risks that could be involved with using a suicide assessment or suicide contract (Stone, 2013).  This is important for FMS, because it ties to the recent decision to change the protocol when there is suicide ideation.  Reading about the risks associated with some of our old practices will help you understand why we needed to change and the importance of not misguiding parents.
Reference: Stone, C. (2013, November 1). Suicide contracts, assessments, and parental/guardian notification: Err on the side of caution. ASCA School Counselor. Retrieved from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/magazine/blogs/november-december-2013/suicide-contracts,-assessments-and-parental-guardi

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Schools are charged with the task of having a transition plan in place for students who have left school for mental health reasons and are returning.
Serrano (2020) writes about schools who have implemented transition plans that are effective and should be considered by all schools.

Many schools struggle to have the resources to help students in mental health crisis.

Some schools mentioned in the article have a safe room for students to go for one period or as needed to unwind, catch up on missed work, and/or speak to a counselor.

Designated school personnel contact teachers to help with missed work and prioritize assignments for students to not feel overwhelmed when they return from a mental health facility.

Students found ways to cope in a safe environment which in turn increased attendance and retention rates among students with mental health (Serrano, 2020).

Reference: Serrano, A. (2020, February 5). Schools struggle to help students return to class after a mental health crisis. The Hechinger Report. Retrieved from https://hechingerreport.org/schools-struggle-to-help-students-return-to-class-after-a-mental-health-crisis/

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Funding for mental health in education is a common topic.  Mental health issues are on the rise, and counselors and teachers feel overwhelmed with how to assist students who are struggling mentally.
De La Rosa (2019) brings forth information on government funds designated to assist schools with mental health services.

Over $70 million dollars is being distributed among different grants available for schools who either have high levels of violence, are high need schools, or have been designated to certain schools.

Grants are designed to give local districts control over funds to provide support that is specific to their need.

Schools are writing grants to lower counselor student ratio (De La Rosa, 2019).

This is an encouraging shift toward a focus in prevention for mental health in schools and use of grants should be promoted by schools counselors and educators.
Reference: De La Rosa, S. (2019, October 9). Ed dept allots $71.6M to boost proactive school safety measures. EducationDive. Retrieved from https://www.educationdive.com/news/ed-dept-allots-716m-to-boost-proactive-school-safety-measures/564628/

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Federal Constitutional Law:

The tenth Amendment to the United States constitution gives states power over educational decisions (U.S. Const. amend. X).

This is important to remember that the state has power to make educational decisions which would include students suicidal related issues.

Reference: U.S. Const. amend X
https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/tenth_amendment

Texas Constitutional Law:

The Texas Constitution states that TExas will delegate funds to support public schools (Tex. Const. art. 7, § 2).

Funds are at times dependent on the compliance of school districts.  The school districts must know the laws and comply with regulations regarding suicidal students in order to continue to receive funds.

Reference: Tex. Const. art. 7, § 2 (amended 2011)
https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CN/htm/CN.7.htm

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Federal Statutory Law:

Title 20 of the USC located in section 7118 of Chapter 70 explains that there must be early identification programs for mental health, that there needs to be appropriate referrals as necessary, and that the school needs professional development to support staff with knowledge on mental health (20 USC § 7118).

This is crucial in helping with identification of students who are at risk of suicide ideation.

Reference: Strengthening and Improvement of Elementary and Secondary Schools, 20 USC § 7118
https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title20/chapter70/subchapter4/partA&edition=prelim

Texas Statutory Law:

The Texas Education Code states that schools must provide training concerning warning signs of students at risk of suicide, provide intervention and resources when returning from mental state related absences, and to provide parents/guardians notification in a reasonable amount of time if their student is at risk for suicide (TEC § 38.351).

This law is important to be in compliance with requirements associated with students who are at risk of suicide.

Reference: Health and Safety, Texas Education Code § 38.351
https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ED/htm/ED.38.htm#G

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Judicial Federal Law:

Eisel v. Montgomery (1991) was a case that pointed out the importance of contacting parents when a student has had suicide ideation.

The potential outcome is too devastating to not give parents a right to intervene on their child’s behalf (Eisel v. Montgomery County Board of Education, 1991).

This is important to understand the legal obligation to inform parents if a student has suicide ideation even if you are breaking confidentiality.

Reference: Eisel v. Montgomery County Board of Education, 324 Md. 376 (1991)
https://casetext.com/case/eisel-v-board-of-education

State Judicial Law:

Wyke v. Polk (1995), revealed that schools can be found guilty on the grounds of negligence if staff are not adequately trained with a system in place for suicide prevention.

The school did not notify the parent even when they knew about two previous suicide attempts and the current ideation (Wyke v. Polk County School Board, 1995).

This case if very important in understanding the weight of being negligent when there is knowledge of a suicide attempt or suicide ideation.

Reference: Wyke v. Polk County School Board, 898 F. Supp. 852 (1995)

https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/898/852/1464460/

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Federal Administrative Law:

According to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), one can disclose information to any person that has a need to know if there is a threat to the student’s health or safety (34 CFR § 99.36).

This is important information when dealing with a student who could be at risk for suicide.  In order for the student to stay safe, there may need to be consultations with individuals concerning the safety of the student and the information that they disclosed.

Reference: Family Educational Rights and Privacy, 34 CFR § 99.36
https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?rgn=div5&node=34:1.1.1.1.33#sp34.1.99.d

Texas Administrative Law:

The Texas Administrative Code states that all schools must provide suicide prevention training and must keep records of faculty that were in attendance (TAC § 153.1013).

This relates to working with suicidal students because all personnel should be trained in suicide prevention in order to identify students who may be at risk.

Reference: Suicide Prevention Training, Tex. Admin. Code § 153.1013
http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter153/ch153bb.html

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Local Administrative Policy:
FISD safety committee recently changed the protocol for how suicide ideation is addressed.  Here are the following changes:

FISD is no longer using a rated (low, medium, high) risk assessment. (Crisis member will still conduct an interview, but will not assign levels.)

The crisis team member will consult with another crisis team member when they are faced with a suicide ideation.

FISD will notify parents/guardians the same day that a student has expressed any suicide ideation, and parents will pick up their student and sign the release document.

Under Child Find, students with a disability must be identified and evaluated (34 C.F.R. § 300.111).  If a student returns from a mental facility, part of the re-entry procedure will be to offer to the parents and the student 504 support in the interim of a possible special education psych evaluation.  A student will be referred for special education if there is a possibility of an emotional disability.

*Please note: All changes were approved by FISD School Board February, 2020 and go into effect immediately.

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Ethical Concerns:
There is an issue of confidentiality when information is brought to the counselor.  However, confidentiality can be broken in order to help prevent harm against a child (ASCA Ethical Standards, 2016).   Counselors must break confidentiality when notifying parents/guardians about students' suicidal ideation since there is a risk of foreseeable harm (e), but also because the parents have rights to "make decisions on their child's behalf" (f) (ASCA Ethical Standards, 2016, p.2).
Reference: American School Counselor Association (ASCA). Ethical Standards. (2016). Retrieved form https://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/Ethics/EthicalStandards2016.pdf

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American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP, 2020) website is a helpful resource for all educators and school counselors.

Suicide risk factors and warning signs for can be found on the website.

Statistics that can inform educators on rates by age and race, as well as attempts and methods can help educators stay alert and current on trends.

School counselors can be versed on different treatment options to help refer parents to outside sources after suicide ideation by using this resources (AFSP, 2020).

Reference: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (2020). Retrieved from https://afsp.org/about-suicide/

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Counselors must break confidentiality to inform parents when a student has suicide ideation.

Take special caution to not misrepresenting the risk of a student so that parents do not get the wrong impression and therefore do not seek help.

All personnel must have yearly training on warning signs, risk factors, and proper response on dealing with suicidal students.

A crisis team must develop a transition plan for students returning from mental health institutions or a crisis situation.

Information on community resources should be in place for proper referrals when students exhibit suicidal behavior.

A crisis response plan must be in place and distributed to appropriate personnel before a tragic event happens at or with a student at FISD.

Preventative actions will be established including building school culture, integrating social emotional lessons, and encouraging students to speak up when concerned about their friends.