Topic: Working with Suicidal Students

Audience: High School Staff 

I choose this topic because more students have opened up to me and have implied suicide thoughts this school year compared to the past. I have helped a few students in guiding them towards the support they need. I want to make sure I am appropriately helping these students both legally and ethically. 

According to Chistine Moutier, MS, a psychiatrist and the chief medical officer of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, one of the most essential environments for interventions are schools (Pappas, 2023).  A program called Signs of Suicide (SOS) has been shown to reduce suicide attempts by 40% in high schoolers. Comparing students who have taken the SOS training to those that did not, the ninth graders that took the training are 64% more likely to report a suicide attempt (Pappas, 2023). There are only positive trends of suicide prevention programs being implemented in school and decreasing suicide rates. 

Citation: Model School District Policy on Suicide Prevention. (2019, October 9). American School Counselor Association. https://videos.schoolcounselor.org/model-school-district-policy-on-suicide-prevention/

Summary: On Monday, April 24, 2023, at Roscoe Collegiate High School’s secondary campus, a freshman student shot himself with a handgun. He was sent to a nearby hospital but later airlifted to a more substantial hospital, Cooks Medical Center, in DFW. It was reported that the violent act was intended for the student to hurt himself and only himself. School was canceled for the rest of the day and next. School resumed two days later, and counselors were brought in to support students going through grief and trauma.

Citation: Cross, K. (2023, April 24). Roscoe High School Freshman in Critical Condition After Attempting Suicide by ‘Handgun’ at School. Big Country. https://www.bigcountryhomepage.com/news/update-roscoe-high-school-freshman-attempts-suicide-by-handgun-at-school-transported-to-dfw-hospital-for-injuries/

Summary: Will and Amanda Crossland lost their teen son, Jaycee, due to suicide in fall of 2022. Jaycee had strong support systems and was able to confide in his parents about his struggles and being bullied. His parents found him counseling sessions and started to see positive growth. His suicide was a shock to his parents. They now use their experience to spread suicide prevention awareness using social media - #bekindforjaycee. They posted the video of Amanda finding Jaycee after his suicide to help bring awareness to suicide and suicide prevention. 

Citation: Hernandez, M. (2023, January 26). Liberty Hill Family Spreads Mental Health Awareness After Teen Son’s Suicide. KXAN. https://www.kxan.com/news/local/liberty-hill-family-spreads-mental-health-awareness-after-teen-sons-suicide/

Assisting suicide, mercy killing or euthanasia are criminal offenses throughout the United States. Additionally, the Secretary can give grants to public and private entities for research programs that are intended to reduce suicide (and assisted suicide) rates. The Secretary can also give grants to public and private entities, schools, health science centers, or hospitals in helping with costs for trainings related to reducing suicide rates. 

Citation: Assisted Suicide Funding Restriction Act of 1997, Pub. L. No. 105-12, 111 Stat. 23 (1997). 

Link: https://www.congress.gov/105/plaws/publ12/PLAW-105publ12.pdf

School counselor's role is to participate in planning, implementing, and evaluating a guidance program to support all students and their individual needs. School counselors are to advocate and serve students “who are at risk of dropping out of school, becoming substance abusers, participating in gang activity, or committing suicide.” 

Citation: Tex. Educ. Code §33.006.

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

School districts are required to have an improvement plan that is evaluated and revised yearly. The district improvement plan is to guide district and campus staff to improve student performance for all students. Plans should include strategies based on best practices for suicide prevention including conflict resolution, violence prevention, and dyslexia treatment programs. 

Citation: Tex. Educ. Code §11.252.

Link: https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ED/htm/ED.11.htm

This court case gave rights to the states to permit or prohibit physician-assisted suicide. Harold Glucksberg, four other physicians, and a group of terminally ill patients challenged the states law that prohibited assisted suicide. They believed that the right to die was constitutional under the Fourteenth amendment.

Citation: Washington v. Glucksberg, 521 U.S. 702 (1997)

Link: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/521/702/

If a staff member is aware of a student exhibiting potential suicidal behavior, they are to escort the student to a counselor (or principal’s office if the counselor is off campus). The student shall not be left alone or leave school. 

The counselor will conduct a suicide-risk assessment to evaluate the level of risk and determine the appropriate actions to ensure student safety and well-being. The child’s caregiver will be notified - no matter the level of risk. If the student is in immediate danger, the caregiver is required to pick up their student as they are not allowed to leave the building alone or take the school bus. 

Citation: Midlothian Independent School District. (2023). Student Handbook. 

A.9 - Serious and Foreseeable Harm to Self and Others

School counselors are to recognize the level of suicide risk as low, medium, or high. If school counselors have to use a risk assessment, they must communicate clearly to parents the student’s potential harm to self. Even if the risk is low, school counselors must not negate the risk of self-harm. School counselors are to simply report the results of a risk-assessment to parent(s)/guardians(s) with the intention that parents start to get involved and support their child. 

Citation:  American School Counselor Association. (2016). ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors.https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/44f30280-ffe8-4b41-9ad8-f15909c3d164/EthicalStandards.pdf

Summary: American Foundation for Suicide is a health organization that is dedicated to save lives and bring hope to those affected by suicide. Their strategies include funding scientific research, educating and advocating the public about mental health and suicide prevention, and supporting survivors and those affected by suicide. They offer resources and programs for educators in a K-12 setting.  

Citation: Bring suicide prevention to your school. (2023, June 14). American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. https://afsp.org/bring-suicide-prevention-to-your-school/

Assisted Suicide Funding Restriction Act of 1997, Pub. L. No. 105-12, 111 Stat. 23 (1997). 

Bring suicide prevention to your school. (2023, June 14). American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. https://afsp.org/bring-suicide-prevention-to-your-school/

Cross, K. (2023, April 24). Roscoe High School Freshman in Critical Condition After Attempting Suicide by ‘Handgun’ at School. Big Country. https://www.bigcountryhomepage.com/news/update-roscoe-high-school-freshman-attempts-suicide-by-handgun-at-school-transported-to-dfw-hospital-for-injuries/

Hernandez, M. (2023, January 26). Liberty Hill Family Spreads Mental Health Awareness After Teen Son’s Suicide. KXAN. https://www.kxan.com/news/local/liberty-hill-family-spreads-mental-health-awareness-after-teen-sons-suicide/

Midlothian Independent School District. (2023). Student Handbook. 

Model School District Policy on Suicide Prevention. (2019, October 9). American School Counselor Association. https://videos.schoolcounselor.org/model-school-district-policy-on-suicide-prevention/

Moutier, C., Marshall, D. S., & Gibson, N. (2018). Model School District Policy on Suicide Prevention:  Model Language, Commentary, and Resources. American School Counselor Association. https://videos.schoolcounselor.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/AFSP_Model_School_Policy_Booklet.pdf

Pappas, S. (2023, July 1). More than 20% of teens have seriously considered suicide.  Psychologists and communities can help tackle the problem. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2023/07/psychologists-preventing-teen-suicide

Stickl Haugen, J., Sutter, C.C., Tinstman Jones, J.L. et al. Teachers as Youth Suicide Prevention Gatekeepers: An Examination of Suicide Prevention Training and Exposure to Students at Risk of Suicide. Child Youth Care Forum 52, 583–601 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-022-09699-5

Texas Education Agency. (2018). The Texas Model for Comprehensive School Counseling Programs (5th ed.). Texas Counseling Association.  

Tex. Educ. Code §11.252.

Tex. Educ. Code §33.006.

The Trevor Project. (2023, July 12). Public Education Opportunities & Programs - The Trevor Project. https://www.thetrevorproject.org/public-education/

Washington v. Glucksberg, 521 U.S. 702 (1997)