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I have been a teacher for 4 years, 3 years in 5th grade and 1 year in Kindergarten. I am currently in the Professional School Counseling master's program at Angelo State University. The audience this legal and ethical guide is geared towards elementary, middle, and high school counselors. The topic of this legal guide is working with suicidal students.

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I conducted an interview with Alexandria Zak who is a school counselor at Central High School in San Angelo.https://central.saisd.org/departments/counseling/home

I chose the topic working with suicidal students. Working with suicidal students is a topic that is extremely important to school counseling because school counselors are tasked with identifying warning signs of suicide in students and providing resources and referrals to get the student the interventions and help they need. If a school counselor is not fully aware of the signs and legal and ethical principles that accompany working with suicidal students, their students might not get the help they need which could lead to tragic consequences.

Best Practices

There are three best practices for working with suicidal students that I believe are essential to getting students the help they need.

School counselors must be fully aware of the warning signs of a student who might be struggling with suicidal ideation or self-harm. This is important because school counselors work directly with a large number of students who have a wide variety of needs and difficulties which require intervention. A school counselor must be able to identify students who are struggling with suicidal ideation or self-harm so they can get those students the interventions and help they need (Tex. Educ. Code § 38.351).

Suicide prevention programs must be available on every campus to train teachers, school counselors, and any other educator that works directly with students. These programs must train educators in recognizing early warning signs of suicide, recognizing students at risk of suicide, understanding effective interventions to help suicidal students, and how to help students transition back to school after a suicide attempt (Tex. Educ. Code § 38.351).

Schools must create a safe and positive school climate where educators actively strive to build trust with students by creating and fostering positive relationships. It is vital for educators to “understand the importance of building a relationship with all students so they have someone to go to when they are struggling with suicidal ideation or other mental health concerns” (A. Zak, personal communication, July 6, 2022). It is important for schools to have effective intervention programs for students who are struggling with suicide, but it is equally important for schools to have prevention policies and programs “and ensuring that students have trusting relationships with adults serves is the foundation for effective suicide prevention efforts” (National Association of School Psychologists, 2015, para. 7).

Alexandria Zac brought to my attention a new bill that was recently introduced titled the Cady Housh and Gemesha Thomas Student Suicide Prevention Act of 2021. If passed, this bill will require the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to “award a portion of such grants for statewide training programs on emotional well-being, mental health, and suicide awareness and prevention for elementary and secondary school students and staff” (Cacy Housh and Gemesha Thomas Student Suicide Prevention Act of 2021, 2021). This bill would be beneficial to my topic because it will allow for teachers and students to be better trained on suicide prevention and awareness.

References:
Cacy Housh and Gemesha Thomas Student Suicide Prevention Act of 2021, H.R. 5750, 117th Cong. (2021). https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/5750?r=87&s=1

National Association of School Psychologists. (2015). Preventing suicide: Guidelines for administrators and crisis teams. Retrieved June 20, 2022, from https://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources-and-podcasts/school-safety-and-crisis/mental-health-resources/preventing-youth-suicide/preventing-suicide-guidelines-for-administrators-and-crisis-teams

Tex. Educ. Code § 38.351

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Poland, S., & Ladwig, C. (2022, March 14). Preventing suicide in your schools [Webinar]. American School Counselor Association. https://videos.schoolcounselor.org/sponsored-webinar-preventing-suicide-in-your-schools

This webinar not only gives statistics on student suicide and shows the prevalence of it today, but it also gives warning signs and discusses how to identify and help students who are dealing with thoughts of suicide. The webinar also details best practices for preventing suicide in schools and the presenters provide a detailed discussion regarding what schools and educators need to do to for effective suicide prevention.

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Poland, S. (2021, March 25). As schools reopen, prioritizing student mental health can prevent ‘twin-demic.’ Education Dive. Retrieved July 18, 2022, from https://www.k12dive.com/news/as-schools-reopen-prioritizing-student-mental-health-can-prevent-twin-dem/597332/

This article brings attention to the issue of rising teen suicide rates after the pandemic due to teachers and schools not being able to see early signs of suicide and self-harm during remote and online learning.

Suicide prevention needs to be taken seriously, and Scott Poland discusses how school culture needs to be changed to prioritize mental health and helping students process trauma from the pandemic (Poland, 2021).

Schools need to implement outreach programs and suicide prevention programs that will educate students and teachers and help to prevent student suicide. According to Scott Poland, “it’s critical that schools put equal focus on ensuring students are as mentally healthy as they are physically” (Poland, 2021, para. 4).

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Klibanoff, E. (2022, February 1). In pandemic’s isolation, an alarming number of teenage girls are attempting suicide. The Texas Tribune. Retrieved July 18, 2022, from https://www.texastribune.org/2022/02/01/teenage-girls-suicide-pandemic-covid/

The pandemic has led to a rise in mental health concerns for children and teens across the United States. This article details specifically the issue of the rise in suicide attempts for girls between 2019 and 2021.

This article details potential causes in the rise in suicide attempts such as isolation during the pandemic and grief due to loss.

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Slide 6: Original Source of Law- Constitutional Law

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Slide 6: Original Source of Law- Constitutional Law

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Tex. Const. art. 7, § 1
https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CN/htm/CN.7/CN.7.1.htm

The Texas State Legislature must support and maintain effective public free schools.

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Slide 7: Original Source of Law- Statutory Law

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Slide 7: Original Source of Law- Statutory Law

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Tex. Educ. Code § 38.351

https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/SOTWDocs/ED/htm/ED.38.htm

School districts must provide programs in multiple areas including positive school climate, suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention, and safe, supportive, and positive school climate.

Any programs that provide training on suicide prevention must educate teachers and other school personnel about early warning signs of suicide and how to identify students who are at risk of suicide.

Schools must intervene with students who have shown signs of suicide or are at risk of committing suicide by informing their parent or guardian.

Schools must support students returning to school after a suicide attempt or mental health issue.

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Slide 8: Original Source of Law- Judicial Law

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Slide 8: Original Source of Law- Judicial Law

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Eisel v. Montgomery County Board of Education, 324 Md. 376 (Md. 1991).

A school counselor had a duty to warn parents of a suicide pact between students at their school.

The court ruled that school counselors have a duty to use reasonable student suicide prevention measures when they have knowledge of suicidal thoughts or ideation.

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Slide 9: Original Source of Law- Administrative Law

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Slide 9: Original Source of Law- Administrative Law

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19 TAC § 239.15
https://texreg.sos.state.tx.us/public/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=R&app=9&p_dir=&p_rloc=&p_tloc=&p_ploc=&pg=1&p_tac=&ti=19&pt=7&ch=239&rl=15

School counselors must understand their student needs and use strategies, both preventative and intervening, to help with suicide prevention.

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Slide 10: Local Administrative Law/Policy/Rule

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Slide 10: Local Administrative Law/Policy/Rule

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San Angelo ISD. (2019, November 6). Student welfare crisis intervention. https://pol.tasb.org/Policy/Download/1139?filename=FFB(LOCAL).pdf

The document linked above is the San Angelo ISD policy on crisis intervention and threat assessment and safe and supportive team. A student who is believed to be at risk of suicide will be identified by the team and the team will follow San Angelo ISD’s suicide prevention program.

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American School Counselor Association. (2022). ASCA ethical standards for school counselors. Retrieved July 20, 2022, from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/44f30280-ffe8-4b41-9ad8-f15909c3d164/EthicalStandards.pdf

Item A.9.a outlines the ethical responsibility of school counselors to inform parents and guardians when they have knowledge of a student who poses a risk to themselves or others. This would include informing parents and guardians of a student who is struggling with suicidal ideation.

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Slide 12: Personal Connection to the Legal and Ethical Standards

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Slide 12: Personal Connection to the Legal and Ethical Standards

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When I was in high school, I struggled with self harm and suicidal ideation so this assignment really helped me better understand how I was helped by the staff at my school. I now have a better understanding of how to work with students who are struggling with suicide and how to get them the help they need. I also better understand my legal obligation when it comes to informing parents and guardians and referring students to other mental health institutions.

I now feel an obligation to ensure that students mental health needs are being covered by the law because I realized that there are not many laws regarding the rights of students who are struggling with suicide.

I have a goal to make positive school climate a priority for me in my future role as a school counselor because I understand how important it is in helping students overcome suicide.

The law specifically states that schools must have suicide prevention programs in place, and my goal in the future is to be in charge of the training of the teachers on my campus to ensure they have the knowledge to help get suicidal students the help they need.

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Slide 13: Bulleted List of Recommendations/ Best Practices for Compliance

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Slide 13: Bulleted List of Recommendations/ Best Practices for Compliance

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Ensure that teachers and other school staff are fully aware of the district’s suicide protocol so that they understand what steps to take if they are informed of a student who might have suicidal ideation.

School staff should understand the importance of relationship building when it comes to working with students who struggle with suicide.

School counselors need to ensure that the staff on their campus are trained to recognize the early warning signs of suicide in students so they can take the necessary steps to get the students the interventions and help they need.

It is important for school counselors to be entirely informed about the laws and policies surrounding working with suicidal students.

One of the main goals of a campus should be creating a safe, positive, and respectful school climate so that students who might be dealing with suicide feel comfortable enough to come forward and ask for help.

Suicide prevention programs are equally as important as suicide intervention programs.

Parents need to understand the district and school’s suicide policy before an incident occurs so they know what steps to take and who to contact if they need help.