Working with Suicidal Students by Kacie Suratt https://padlet.com/ksuratt1/5aeh2j1g5uzd Legal and Ethical Principles en-us 2019-07-15 14:28:26 UTC 2026-03-20 13:18:23 UTC hello@padlet.com https://imgglb.padletcdn.com/v13/image?t=g_auto&url=https%3A%2F%2Fpadlet.net%2Ficons%2Fpng%2F2600.png 1. Professional Prospecive/Audience/ Topic ksuratt1 https://padlet.com/ksuratt1/5aeh2j1g5uzd/wish/371191943 My professional perspective is that of a high school counselor. I am beginning my 7th year teaching high school math, and will be receiving my Master's in Guidance and Counseling in December of 2019, after which I will hopefully begin working as a high school counselor for the next school year. This legal guide padlet is a resource for counselors as well as other faculty to understand the protocol, warning signs, and severity of suicide and best practices when working with Suicidal students. As a teacher, I do not feel that I was properly trained on how to work with suicidal students as well as warning signs to look for. I also did not know what the school policy was for suicide prevention prior to creating this padlet. Hopefully this padlet will be a tool that counselors, administrators, teachers, and other faculty can use to feel more confident when working with students who might be at risk of committing suicide.]]> 2019-07-15 14:30:25 UTC https://padlet.com/ksuratt1/5aeh2j1g5uzd/wish/371191943 2. Interview ksuratt1 https://padlet.com/ksuratt1/5aeh2j1g5uzd/wish/371192027 I spoke with the Lead Counselor at Azle High School, Heather Huffaker about the policies and procedures for suicide prevention.
How does suicide impact your field of education?
It is my duty to be aware of students who are displaying signs of suicide and implement the policies and procedures put in place by the district and state to prevent suicides. It is a critical part of my job to help students who are at risk of suicide.
What are some best practices for preventing suicide?
The most important practice when working with students at risk of suicide is to contact the student's parents/guardians. A parent/guardian should always be contacted if a student is at risk of suicide, no matter how low the risk is. Azle ISD uses the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale to determine the level of risk a student is experiencing. The levels (low, moderate, high) should be taken seriously and should never be downplayed. If a student is at moderate to high risk, the parents are encouraged to pick up their students from school and meet with the counselors to decide an intervention plan for the student. If the parent cannot pick up their student, then the police should transport the student to the emergency room. A student at risk should never be left alone.
What is an emerging issue that should be watched that could impact your work?
The American School Counseling Association has recently decided that using risk assessments such as the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale should not be used as a best practice for assisting students at risk of suicide. The association claims that students could be lying about their level of risk of suicide and that the risk assessment could cause counselors and parents to lessen their concern of the student's suicide risk. It will be interesting to see if policies and procedures by the state and districts will change due to the ASCA's lack of support for risk assessments.]]> 2019-07-15 14:31:11 UTC https://padlet.com/ksuratt1/5aeh2j1g5uzd/wish/371192027 3. Professional Association ksuratt1 https://padlet.com/ksuratt1/5aeh2j1g5uzd/wish/371192053 The position statement of the American School Counselor Association is focused on providing help to students who are at risk of suicide. The number of students committing suicide has risen in the past 15 years; therefore, it is imperative that counselors understand the signs of suicide risk as well as have plans in place for dealing with suicidal students, including notifying the parents. These procedures must be implemented in any case that a student is suspected of suicide risk, regardless of student denial(American School Counselor Association, 2018).

American School Counselor Association. (2018). The School Counselor and Suicide Prevention/Awareness. Retrieved from School Counselor: https://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/PositionStatements/PS_Suicide.pdf

]]> 2019-07-15 14:31:24 UTC https://padlet.com/ksuratt1/5aeh2j1g5uzd/wish/371192053 4. Current News Article ksuratt1 https://padlet.com/ksuratt1/5aeh2j1g5uzd/wish/371192135
  • The rural mountain west is home to 8 of the 10 states with the highest suicide rates.
  • Mental illness mentality, lack of jobs and opportunities, and access to guns are all possible reasons why the rural mountain west has such high suicide rates.
  • Grand Junction ISD decided to implement the evidence based suicide prevention program, Sources of Strength, to combat the high suicide rates.
  • This program implements peer mentors who are trained identify students at risk of suicide and act as a liaison to provide help to students at risk of suicide.
  • The district also hired a full time suicide prevention coordinator to assist the students, faculty, and staff with suicide prevention.
  • Though it could take years to see progress, the district as well as the town of Grand Junction are hopeful that the Sources of Strength program as well as the assistance of a suicide prevention coordinator will positively affect the students and citizens of Grand Junction, Colorado (Siegler, 2018).

    • Siegler, K. (2018, October 23). How One Colorado Town Is Tackling Suicide Prevention — Starting With The Kids. Retrieved from NPR: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/10/23/658834805/how-one-colorado-town-is-tackling-suicide-prevention-starting-with-the-kids

    ]]>     2019-07-15 14:32:15 UTC https://padlet.com/ksuratt1/5aeh2j1g5uzd/wish/371192135     5. Current News Article ksuratt1 https://padlet.com/ksuratt1/5aeh2j1g5uzd/wish/371192144
  • Between 2006 and 2016, the suicide rate of children ages 10-17 increased by 70 percent.
  • The leading cause of suicide was due to untreated mental illnesses.
  • Family problems, bullying, academic pressure, and social media are all culprits as to why the suicide rate has increased so rapidly over the past ten years.
  • LGBTQ students are also highly at risk of having suicide ideations, as 40% of students who identify as LGBTQ have considered committing suicide.
  • States such as California have created laws requiring schools to have a suicide prevention program in place at all schools (Flannery, 2018). 

    • Flannery, M. E. (2018, May 14). As Teen Suicide Rate Increases, States Look to Schools to Address Crisis. Retrieved from NEA Today: http://neatoday.org/2018/05/14/teen-suicide-prevention/

    ]]>     2019-07-15 14:32:21 UTC https://padlet.com/ksuratt1/5aeh2j1g5uzd/wish/371192144     6. Original Source of Law ksuratt1 https://padlet.com/ksuratt1/5aeh2j1g5uzd/wish/371192180 Texas Health and Safety Code § 161.325 
     According to this statutory law, the Texas Health and Safety Department along with TEA 
    and education centers in the region must annually provide updated lists of best practice programs 
    as well as research based practices for suicide prevention for all public elementary, middle, 
    junior high, and high schools.  
    Already existing suicide prevention programs, any courses or programs created by the 
    state about suicide prevention, and programs recognized by the Suicide Prevention Center will be 
    WORKING WITH SUICIDAL STUDENTS 4 
    taken into account when created each school’s suicide prevention program. The school must 
    provide the training to each employee at least once and must keep a record of all employees who 
    received the training.  
    The suicide prevention program must include training for all counselors, teachers, 
    administration, nurses, other staff, and any law enforcement or social workers who work with 
    students on a regular basis. This program must teach employees ways to recognize students at 
    rick of suicide, early warning signs, and teach effective intervention. There should also be a 
    procedure implemented for notifying parents of their student’s suicide risk (Tex. Health and 
    Safety Code § 161.325). 

    2 Tex. Health and Safety Code § 161.325 (2017).]]>     2019-07-15 14:32:37 UTC https://padlet.com/ksuratt1/5aeh2j1g5uzd/wish/371192180     7. Original Source of Law ksuratt1 https://padlet.com/ksuratt1/5aeh2j1g5uzd/wish/371192196 Texas Education Code § 11.252 
    According to this statutory law, all districts are required to have a district improvement 
    plan, updated annually by the superintendent and a district level committee. This district 
    improvement plan must address numerous topics, including suicide prevention programs. The 
    suicide prevention programs within the district improvement plan must alight with the Texas 
    Health and Safety Code § 161.325, which specifically addresses the protocol for notifying 
    parents and guardians of their child’s suicide risk (Tex. Ed. Code § 11.252).

    2 Tex. Ed. Code § 11.252 (2017).]]>     2019-07-15 14:32:48 UTC https://padlet.com/ksuratt1/5aeh2j1g5uzd/wish/371192196     8. Original Source of Law ksuratt1 https://padlet.com/ksuratt1/5aeh2j1g5uzd/wish/371192222 Texas Education Code § 21.451 
     According to this statutory law, all educators must receive suicide prevention training as 
    part of their staff development. This must be done at new teacher orientations for new hires. 
    Employees who are already faculty must be trained in suicide prevention as of September 30th, 
    2016. This training must be in compliance with the Texas Health and Safety Code §161.325 
    (Tex. Ed. Code § 21.451).

    2 Tex. Ed. Code § 21.451 (2017).]]>     2019-07-15 14:33:05 UTC https://padlet.com/ksuratt1/5aeh2j1g5uzd/wish/371192222     9. Original Source of Law ksuratt1 https://padlet.com/ksuratt1/5aeh2j1g5uzd/wish/371192269 Eisel v. Board of Education of Montgomery County 
    This judicial court case discusses a thirteen year old girl who committed suicide. Due to 
    her close relationship with her school counselors, the father sued the district as well as the 
    counselors for failure to notify his wife and him about his daughter’s suicide risk. He claimed it 
    was the duty of the counselors to report the daughter’s suicide ideations to the parents, which 
    they neglected to do. The courts decided that the counselors were not at fault, though the case 
    raised many thought, questions, and discussions about the responsibility of the counselor and 
    other employees when dealing with students with suicidal risks and ideations. Ethically, the risk 
    of not informing parents is far greater than the possible implications of not reporting, therefore, 
    counselors have a duty to inform parents and allow them an opportunity to choose the best path 
    for the protection of their children (Eisel v. Board of Education of Montgomery County, 1991). 

    Eisel v. Board of Education of Montgomery County, 324 Md. 376, (1991).]]>     2019-07-15 14:33:24 UTC https://padlet.com/ksuratt1/5aeh2j1g5uzd/wish/371192269     10. Local Administrative Law/Policy/Rule ksuratt1 https://padlet.com/ksuratt1/5aeh2j1g5uzd/wish/371192293 According to the Azle ISD School Board Manual, Azle ISD must include procedures for providing parents/guardians with notice that their student is suspected to be at risk of committing suicide. This may be implemented by one employee acting as the suicide prevention liaison for the district. The district must also provide parents with available counseling alternatives for students who are at risk of committing suicide (Azle ISD School Board Policy Manual, 2017).

    Azle ISD. (2017, November 8). Board Policy Manual, Student Welfare Crisis Intervention. Retrieved from: https://pol.tasb.org/Policy/Download/1109?filename=FFB(LEGAL).pdf]]>     2019-07-15 14:33:43 UTC https://padlet.com/ksuratt1/5aeh2j1g5uzd/wish/371192293     11. Ethical Principle ksuratt1 https://padlet.com/ksuratt1/5aeh2j1g5uzd/wish/371192311 In the American School Counselor Association’s Code of Ethics, code A.9.a requires counselors to inform parents and guardians if a student is suspected of being at risk of self-harm or suicide. Appropriate authorities should also be notified if the risk is serious enough. Parents should always be informed if their students is suspected of suicidal ideation, as the risk of not informing parents is far too great, and parents must be given an opportunity to parent their child as they feel is needed (American School Counselor Association, 2016).

    American School Counselor Association. (2016). ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors. Retrieved from ASCA: https://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/Ethics/EthicalStandards2016.pdf]]>     2019-07-15 14:34:02 UTC https://padlet.com/ksuratt1/5aeh2j1g5uzd/wish/371192311     12. Non-Law Source ksuratt1 https://padlet.com/ksuratt1/5aeh2j1g5uzd/wish/371192333 This resource "toolkit" by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration can be downloaded by any person. It provides information about suicide, protocols to implement if a student is at risk of suicide, steps to take after a student commits suicide, and tools and training for educators, parents, and teachers (The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Center for Mental Health Services, 2012).

    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Center for Mental Health Services. (2012). Preventing Suicide: A Toolkit for High Schools. Retrieved from SAMHSA: https://store.samhsa.gov/system/files/sma12-4669.pdf]]>     2019-07-15 14:34:14 UTC https://padlet.com/ksuratt1/5aeh2j1g5uzd/wish/371192333     13. Recommendations/Best Practices for Compliance ksuratt1 https://padlet.com/ksuratt1/5aeh2j1g5uzd/wish/371192359 1. Never leave a student alone who might be at risk of suicide.
    2. Always contact the parents/guardians of students suspected of suicide risk.
    3. If using risk assessments rush as the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale, do not take the results lightly. Always contact the parents, even if the risk is rated low.
    4. Have a suicide prevention plan in place for the school.
    5. Have a list of facilities and outside counseling alternatives for the parents/guardians of the student.
    6. If the student is at moderate to high risk for suicide, have parents come pick up their student and have an action plan for providing the student assistance.
    7. If the parents cannot pick up their student, have the police transport the student to the emergency room.
    8. Stay calm for the student and the parents/guardians.]]>     2019-07-15 14:34:30 UTC https://padlet.com/ksuratt1/5aeh2j1g5uzd/wish/371192359