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My professional perspective is a school counselor for a high school. The audience includes students, parents, and teachers. The topic is Suicidal students. I chose this topic because it is something I will deal with a lot as a school counselor. It is important to handle suicide situations legally and ethically.

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The person I interviewed was a school counselor, Mrs. Lee. She works at Pearland High School and has been in the district for over 10 years. It is important to know how to handle a suicidal student situation because they are extremely delicate. If it is handled poorly, the consequences could literally be fatal. There is protocol to follow and legal and ethical standards that are in play. This impacts school counseling because students often turn to counselors for help and as counselors, we must know what the next steps are and follow them precisely. Some best practices related to dealing with suicidal students include:

· When a student expresses that they are having suicidal thoughts, do not leave the student alone until they are with their counselor or parents.

· If you are the school counselor, call the parent and tell them what is happening.

· If a student is actively trying to commit suicide, call 911 if harm has occurred.

An emerging issue that schools have to deal with is the addition of social media and online bullying. Self-image has become amplified with the access students have to phones and social media which has caused them to become critical of how they look and live. Because of unrealistic expectations seen online, students can feel bad about themselves or experience bullying from what they post. This connects to school counselors because they have to be knowledgeable of what social media can do for the mental health of a student.

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American School Health Association had Elizabeth Perez from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration present “Bullying Prevention and Suicide Prevention for Schools: A Digital Approach from SAMHSA. This webinar was helpful in recognizing the impact of bullying in schools and its connection to suicide and mental health of a student. It was also helpful in providing mobile apps for bullying and suicide prevention. This webinar is informative of suicide in students because this organization is experienced in preventing suicide in youth students and actively working to educate the world.

ASHAwebinars. (2015, July 28). Bullying Prevention and Suicide Prevention for Schools: A Digital Approach from SAMHSA. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAn5kxvGzfk

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·A student committed suicide after being bullied repeatedly. Two administrators were charged for not informing parents of the extent of bullying and not calling 911 when the student was unconscious.

·This article is informative about the importance of conveying vital information that connects with suicide. Because bullying is a catalyst for suicide, telling the parents every detail of what is happening could have prevented this suicide.

·Although the school counselor was not mentioned in this article, it is important for counselors to be involved in this process and working to combat bullying from the beginning.

Link: https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/federal-appeals-court-lets-lawsuit-proceed-against-educators-in-students-suicide/2020/12

Walsh, M. (2021). Federal appeals court lets lawsuit proceed against educators in student’s suicide. Education Week. Retrieved from https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/federal-appeals-court-lets-lawsuit-proceed-against-educators-in-students-suicide/2020/12

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· A student told the principal that she had been having suicidal thoughts for many weeks and weapons she saw at home made her want to harm herself.

·The school counselor was not there so the principal called the police officer with the school and the officer took the student for a mental evaluation without waiting for the parent. The parent ended up suing and winning because of violation of the 14th and 4th amendments.

·The officer appealed for qualified immunity because there was probable cause that the student was a danger to themselves.

·This article is informative of suicide because it shows how important it is to take a student seriously when they say or hint at suicidal ideation. This officer knew that the student was thinking about or has thought about self-harm and acted in a way to help the student immediately.

Link: https://www.edweek.org/education/appeals-court-backs-police-officer-in-mental-evaluation-of-suicidal-student/2020/05

Walsh, M. (2020). Appeals Court Backs Police Officer in Mental Evaluation of Suicidal Student. Education Week. Retrieved from https://www.edweek.org/education/appeals-court-backs-police-officer-in-mental-evaluation-of-suicidal-student/2020/05

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· The United States Code says the secretary will provide monetary aide to states or tribes for intervention and prevention of suicide.

·This includes assessment, treatment, and referral of any youth thought to be at harm for suicide.

·The program should be integrated into the community and ensure proper training of staff involved. (42 USC § 290bb-36a, 1944)

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

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Nguyen v. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, SJC-12329 (2018)

Link: https://law.justia.com/cases/massachusetts/supreme-court/2018/sjc-12329.html#:~:text=Massachusetts%20Institute%20of%20Technology,-Annotate%20this%20Case&text=The%20Supreme%20Judicial%20Court%20affirmed,the%20suicide%20of%20Plaintiff's%20son.

·       Han Nguyen was a student at MIT who committed suicide. He was seeing health professionals outside of the university but stated he was not suicidal at that time despite previous attempts years before.

·       Han Nguyen’s father tried to sue two professors and a student support dean for failing to act to prevent his son’s suicide.

·       The highest court in Massachusetts rules that the university and its personnel were not at fault because they did not have knowledge of a stated plan from Han that he was going to commit suicide.

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·Texas Education Agency (TEA) shall have a youth suicide prevention officer

·This officer will help with prevention and response to youth suicide of public-school students.

·This is an important part of the Texas constitution because it helps TEA with guidance needed to prevent suicide in school districts all over Texas. When the state shows that preventing suicide is a priority for the state, school districts will follow their lead.

7 Tex. Consti. § 533.040.C (1991)

Link: https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/HS/htm/HS.533.htm#533.040

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19 TAC Chapter §153 Suicide Prevention Training.

·This administrative law says starting from the 2016 school year, school districts must provide suicide prevention training for new employees (19 TAC Chapter §153.1013a)

·This law is to continue for subsequent years in order to provide all new employees of the district suicide prevention training (19 TAC Chapter §153.1013b)

·It is important for employees at a school district to be knowledgeable about student suicide because they are the first line of preventing suicide.
Link: http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter153/ch153bb.html

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The student code of conduct for Pearland ISD says “A student may be expelled for engaging in the following no matter where it takes place: Engaging in bullying that encourages a student to commit or attempt to commit suicide” (Pearland ISD, 2021, p. 29). Pearland ISD takes suicide seriously and acts to establish intervention. Students who bully students to the point of suicide are expelled.

Pearland ISD. (2021). Student code of conduct. Retrieved from https://www.pearlandisd.org/cms/lib/TX01918186/Centricity/shared/_district_documents/2020-21_Student-Code-of-conduct.pdf

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A.2. Confidentiality l. “Convey a student’s highly sensitive information (e.g., a student’s suicidal ideation) through personal contact such as a phone call or visit and not less-secure means such as a notation in the educational record or an e-mail. Adhere to state, federal and school board policy when conveying sensitive information” (ASCA, 2016, p. 2).

This ethical standard connects to working with suicidal students because when a student expresses that they want to commit suicide, it is important to convey that information to their parent and guardian in an appropriate way which is through phone or in person. The delicacy of the situation requires confidentiality and using correct policy when reporting suicidal ideation.

American School Counselor Association. (2016). ASCA ethical standards for school counselors. Alexandria, VA: Author. Retrieved from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/f041cbd0-7004-47a5-ba01-3a5d657c6743/Ethical-Standards.pdf

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The legal and ethical standards of any situation should be at the forefront of each situation as a school counselor. Suicide is especially important to handle legally and ethically because a misstep can have drastic consequences. This applies to my personal educational journey because a lot of what I am learning about in my courses has emphasized the importance of following the standards at all times. I feel connected to these goals because there is gravity to the responsibility of performing my duties the right way. There are standards for a reason, and I feel like school counselors would not be tasked with these expectations if it didn’t matter. This has paved a way for my educational goals by prompting me to become familiar with all policy, law, and standards that apply to my future career.

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·Be very familiar with the policies of your school district when it comes to dealing with student suicide. Every district is unique.

·Never leave a student alone after they have expressed they are having suicidal thoughts.

·Communicate with parents and guardians about suicide via phone or in person. This will avoid confidentiality issues.

·Have community resources ready for students and their families when suicide ideation is revealed. This will help them receive help outside of school and aide in response to suicide as required by the state of Texas.

·Educate school staff on suicide prevention and legal requirements because they have a lot of time with students and may be told vital information.

·Always notify the proper personnel when a student has suicide ideation. This may include a school administrator, nurse, school counselor, or student support counselor.