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My personal perspective is as a professional school counselor  for Princeton High School. This padlet can be used by school counselors and administrators when dealing with suicidal students.

I chose this topic because our school district was personally impacted by multiple suicide cases in one year.

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I interviewed Ms. Kayla Walling, professional school counselor at Princeton High School.

The issue of suicidal students is important in the field of professional school counseling because it is more common than one thinks.  It is the goal of the school counselor to be a part of the support system that helps suicidal students. According to Ms. Walling, they deal with students with suicidal tendencies quite often. She went on to say that students face morbid thinking, suicide ideations and mental issues  such as anxiety and depression.
She went on to explain her duty as a licensed educator to tell parents/guardians if their child has shown suicidal tendencies or has suicidal ideations.

Best Practices:

1.  Have a suicide prevention plan in place. Princeton High School has implemented the Signs of Suicide (SOS) program as their intervention plan. This program begins when students are Freshman and it uses the acronym ACT as a key message to encourage students to acknowledge, care and tell if they know or hear of another student with suicidal ideations.

2. Immediately follow up with the student to identify the type and severity of the crisis. According to Ms. Walling, they take every outcry for help seriously. Based on the severity of the crisis, they determine who should be contacted.

3. Notify parents or guardians of the crisis.  Ms. Walling says they always contact parents or a trusted adult in the case the crisis was caused by a strained relationship with parents.

Ms. Walling shared a story that supports why the impact of suicidal students are so important to her and our district. During her first year as an educator at Princeton High School, there were two student suicides within months of each other.  The second student was in one of her classes and she stated that no one ever suspected that child would take their own life.

She also shared other incidents of a student having to go to the hospital frequently because their outcry for help and of a student being hospitalized for self harm. Ms. Walling has a great deal of experience with students that are having suicidal tendencies and states that is one of the hardest parts of her job.

Walling, K. ( 2020, September 22). Kayla Walling discusses the

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American School Counselor Association posted an article on the legal and ethical implications of student suicide. The article, written by Stone & Zirkel (2012),  speaks on the impact of Eisel v. Board of Education of Montgomery County (1991) on other cases involving student suicide.
https://www.schoolcounselor.org/magazine/blogs/may-june-2012/student-suicide-legal-and-ethical-implications

The lesson learned from this case and cases that followed is school counselors have a responsibility to always contact parents due to their specialized training and their role as loco parentis when student suicide is possible.

Stone, C. & Zirkel, P. (2012). Student suicide: Legal and ethical implications. American School Counselor Association (ASCA). (2020). Retrieved from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/magazine/blogs/may-june-2012/student-suicide-legal-and-ethical-implications

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Evans and Kline (2017) wrote an article focusing on understanding instead of blame. They listed steps in preventing future tragedies in the aftermath of student suicide. Steps adopted were:

Screening students for depression

Training teachers and students in signs of risk for suicide

Reducing homework

Adding mindful electives

Modifying the start time of the school day

Evans and Kline (2017) also mentioned the triggers and vulnerabilities to adolescent suicide. A few of those triggers and vulnerabilities include:

Mental illness

Family history of suicidal behavior

Dysfunctional family environment

Struggles with sexual orientation and gender identity

Social problems such as bullying

https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2017/02/15/student-suicide-moving-beyond-blame-to-understanding.html

Evans, R. & Kline, M. (2017, February 14). Student suicide: Moving beyond blame to understanding. Education Week.

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Prothero (2020) wrote an article on the distinct challenges experienced by schools in the wake of the Covid-19 Pandemic.  School districts are struggling with preventing and responding to student suicides.
https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2020/06/19/a-punch-to-the-gut-dealing-with.html

Students are feeling stress in the form of :

Social isolation

Family financial instability

Death of loved ones

Prothero (2020) went on to say that teachers are being more heavily relied upon during this pandemic to spot suicidal behavior in students.  Warning signs that they are looking for are:

Giving away possessions

Making statements about killing themselves

Talking about being gone

Gauging people's reactions

Prothero, A. (2020, June 19).  'A punch to the gut': Dealing with suicide in a pandemic. Education Week.

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Slide #6 Sources of Law Constitutional Law

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Slide #6 Sources of Law Constitutional Law

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Reference:
42 U.S.C. § 201
Link:
https://tinyurl.com/yyogxvck

Amends the Public Health Service Act

Provide timely assessment, treatment, or referral for mental health or substance abuse services of youth at risk for suicide.

Develops and implements the suicide prevention strategies in schools, juvenile justice systems, and other child and youth support entities

Offers appropriate post-suicide intervention services, care, and information

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Reference:
Tex. Education Code § 33.006 (a) and (b)
Link:
https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ED/htm/ED.33.htm#33.006

School counselors are responsible for

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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Slide #8 Sources of Law  Administrative Law

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Slide #8 Sources of Law  Administrative Law

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Reference:
Tex. Ed Code § 38.351 (e)
Link:
https://tea.texas.gov/about-tea/other-services/mental-health/suicide-prevention-intervention-and-postvention

School districts must provide a suicide prevention program that includes:

Training for counselors, teachers, nurses and other staff.

Recognizing students at risk of attempting suicide.

Providing notice or referral to a parent or guardian

Assisting students in returning to school following treatment of a suicide attempt.

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Reference:
Eisel v. Board of Education , 597 A.2d 447, 324 Md. 376
Link:
https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1527812/eisel-v-board-of-education/

Wrongful death suit brought by the father of a student who who killed herself in a murder-suicide pact.

Alleged negligence on the part of the school counselors.

The judged ruled that there was no allegations of malice or gross negligence on the part of the school counselors.

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Reference:
Princeton ISD Student Handbook (2020-21)
Link:
https://tinyurl.com/y6yz2ulq

PISD has implemented programs that addresses mental health and behavioral health concerns.

Suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention.

Safe, supportive, and positive school climates

Positive youth development

Procedures to support students return to school after treatment for mental health condition.

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Students with suicidal ideation would be addressed under section A.9 of the American School Counseling Association (ASCA), (2016) Ethical Standards for School Counselors.

The ASCA ethical standards for school counselors requires to inform parents/guardians, use risk assessments with caution to determine if a student is suicidal, and not release a student who is a danger to self or others until the student has proper and necessary support.

American School Counseling Association (ASCA). 2016
https://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/Ethics/EthicalStandards2016.pdf

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Confident Counselors is a blog that provides valuable information to professional school counselors. It is made up of a group of counselors who share their experience and expertise on various topics related to being a counselor. This blog post referenced suicidal students and offered resources for suicide prevention.

Reference:
Confident Counselors (2017, April 3). Suicide prevention best practices.  retrieved from
https://confidentcounselors.com/2017/04/03/suicide-prevention-best-practices/#comments

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Slide #13 Best Practices/ Recommendations

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Slide #13 Best Practices/ Recommendations

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Below are a few best practices and recommendations for working with suicidal students.

Know the laws related to suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention.

Know your local school policy as it relates to suicidal students.

Collaborate with other counselors or educators on ideas for suicide prevention or how to deal with students with suicide ideations.

Join a professional association to glean additional information and resources about working with suicidal students.

Know what is required of you as a school counselor through the ASCA ethical standards.

Research and use various resources to learn ideas and gain support in working with suicidal students.

Stay up to date on current news involving suicidal students and related policies.