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The perspective I am taking is from the point of view of a school counselor at a high school in Arlington, Texas. The audience for this padlet would be counselors or administration dispersing information to a high school staff.

The topic I chose was working with suicidal students. I decided to choose this topic because I think it will be a vital refresher when schools return to session in August. With students being away from school for nearly six months, school staffs will need to be extra-vigilant in recognizing and working with suicidal students. A brief reminder of the legal expectations could help in placing the necessary weight on this topic.

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Slide #2 Working with Suicidal Students Summary

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Slide #2 Working with Suicidal Students Summary

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Suicide is a growing concern among high school students. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among 10-24 year-olds (Teen Suicide Facts, 2016). Because of this, educators are legally obligated to adhere to certain protocols and standards to help curb this very serious reality. Where schools and/or educators fail to abide by the federal, state, and local laws, they can be held liable for negligence. Schools should be a safe place for all students and that includes taking necessary measures to prevent suicidal ideations from occurring and protocols when such situations do occur.

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The American School Counselor Association released a blog post discussing the legal and ethical implications counselors have when working with student who are given a suicide assessment. The post discusses the confusion around common counseling experiences including when to reach out to parents, what is a suicidal ideation and who should be considered a "safe person." The post then discusses court cases that have been associated with such instances.

This article is helpful to see recent court cases that involve school counselors'  negligence in properly handing students with suicidal ideations.

Student Suicide: Legal and Ethical Implications

Stone, C. & Zirkel, P. (2012). Student suicide: legal and ethical implications. American School Counselor Association. Retrieved from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/magazine/blogs/may-june-2012/student-suicide-legal-and-ethical-implications

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Wan (2019) discusses states that are beginning to offer students excused absences for mental health days to help curb the increasing rate of suicide among teens.
*Utah joins Oregon, Colorado, Florida, and Washington in changing the definition of an excused absence to include mental health days
*This law allows students who admit that they need help to not have to put on a brave face, which can often lead to increased suicidal ideations.

This is important for school counselors and educators of all kinds because:
*This shows that new laws are being created to try to combat teen suicide
*Along with new laws, there will be legal consequences for school who do not adhere to the new laws.

Schools now letting students stay home sick for mental-health days

Wan, W. (2019). Schools now letting students stay home sick for mental-health days. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/schools-now-letting-youths-stay-home-sick-for-mental-health-days/2019/10/21/15df339a-e93b-11e9-85c0-85a098e47b37_story.html

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Williams (2019) discusses a California new California law. The law:
*requires schools to print the suicide hotline number on students' IDs.
*Recommends schools print the Crisis Text Line on IDs, as well

Again, this is important for counselors and schools because:
*This shows that new laws are being created to try to combat teen suicide
*Along with new laws, there will be legal consequences for schools who do not adhere to the new laws.

California law puts a suicide hotline number on school ID cards

Williams, D. (2019). California law puts a suicide hotline number on school ID cards. CNN. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/14/us/california-suicide-hotline-student-id-trnd/index.html

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Federal Statutory Law

Garret Lee Smith Memorial Act of 2004, Pub, L. No. 108-355

https://www.congress.gov/108/plaws/publ355/PLAW-108publ355.pdf

The Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act provides suicide prevention services to at-risk youth.

*Provides grants for schools to develop and implement suicide prevention programs
*Gives preference to states with higher suicide rates
*Provides training programs for students and school staff with regards to reducing suicide among teenagers

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Slide #7 Tex. Education Code § 33.006 a and b

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Slide #7 Tex. Education Code § 33.006 a and b

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State Statutory Law

https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ED/htm/ED.33.htm#33.006

This is the school counselor’s duties regarding students showing suicidal ideation according to the Texas Education Code:

*Counsel students to fully develop each student's academic, career, personal, and social abilities.
*Participate in planning, implementing, and evaluating a comprehensive developmental guidance program to serve all students
*Address the special needs of students who are at risk of dropping out of school, becoming substance abusers, participating in gang activity, or committing suicide

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One ethical principle that creates a dilemma within cases of suicidal ideation is confidentiality. In order for a student to trust a school counselor, confidentiality is important. However, confidentiality must be broken in cases where a student is a harm to themselves or a student alerts a school counselor that another student is a potential harm to themselves. This is referenced in the ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors (2016) under A.2.l.

https://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/Ethics/EthicalStandards2016.pdf

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Slide #10 Suicide Ideation AISD Protocol

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Slide #10 Suicide Ideation AISD Protocol

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Local Administrative Law

This is a questionnaire provided to school counselors that must be reviewed with any student that shows suicidal ideation. Possible outcomes vary from contacting parents, contacting the Student Resource Officer, having parents pick up their student, or being escorted to a mental health facility by an Arlington Police Officer.

This is important for school staff to know that counselors have this resource. Any student showing suicidal ideations must be escorted to the counselor by and adult to be assessed.

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Federal Statutory Law

https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title42-section290bb-36a&num=0&edition=prelim

Suicide Prevention for Youth

Law Requirements:
*requires states to design early intervention and prevention strategies that will complement the youth suicide early intervention and prevention strategies
*Provide timely assessment, treatment, or referral for mental health or substance abuse services of youth at risk for suicide;
*Must be based on suicide prevention practices and strategies that are adapted to the local community

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Based on the information that has been collected, this list has been compiled to summarize best practices when working with suicidal students.

*Working with suicidal students cannot be taken lightly. Should a school and/or individual mishandle a situation with a suicidal student, not only is the student placed into harm but the institution/individual can be held liable for negligence
*School counselors have been given responsibility in working with suicidal students, according to the Texas Educational Code. If a student is exhibiting signs of suicide ideation or an educator is aware of a student that could be exhibiting signs, school counselors need to be notified immediately
*Bullying is a leading cause of suicide among teens. Know what bullying looks like and report it immediately when it is discovered.
*Laws on working with suicidal students are continuously evolving. Schools need to stay abreast of the latest laws for student safety and legal protection
*School counselors have strict protocols with Arlington ISD on how to work with students who are exhibiting suicidal ideations. Decisions are always made in the interest of protecting the student, even resulting in breaking confidentiality, when necessary.
*There are a variety of federal, state, and local resources and programs specifically aimed at helping students who are struggling with suicidal ideation. Moreover, there are a plethora of books and articles that are helpful. This is a well-researched subject with a wealth of resources available to help students. Schools need to utilize these resources in order to aid in all of our students' mental health.

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A good resource for school counselors regarding the laws and ethics of working with students with suicidal ideations is Ethical & Legal Issues in School Counseling. Second Edition. This book has a compilation of journal articles, laws, and court cases to help a school counselor navigate any situation, including students who are exhibiting suicidal ideations and how to handle such situations.

Remley, T. P., Jr., Hermann, M. A., Huey, W. C., & American School Counselor Association, A. V. (2003). Ethical & Legal Issues in School Counseling. Second Edition.

https://easydb.angelo.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=ED474114&site=eds-live

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State Statutory Law

https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ED/htm/ED.37.htm#37.0832

This is the part of the Texas Education Code that identifies what bullying is. This is significant as it is a leading cause of teen suicide and one of the signs school counselors and school staff need to look for.