Working with Suicial Students - Legal Guide by Robin Moreno https://padlet.com/rmoreno181/l87hdezzdlukz35z Made with wonder en-us 2020-09-22 01:17:04 UTC 2020-09-26 01:48:51 UTC hello@padlet.com Slide #1: My Professional Perspective rmoreno181 https://padlet.com/rmoreno181/l87hdezzdlukz35z/wish/766465095 2020-09-22 01:17:41 UTC https://padlet.com/rmoreno181/l87hdezzdlukz35z/wish/766465095 Slide #2: Summary of Topic rmoreno181 https://padlet.com/rmoreno181/l87hdezzdlukz35z/wish/766466106 "In the US, suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among children and adolescents ages 10-24, and the 3rd leading cause of death among 12 year olds. Nearly one of every eight children between the ages 6 and 12 has suicidal thoughts" (Boston Children's Hospital, n.d.). Since suicide is one of top causes for death in students of school age, it is important that schools are working to help prevent and intervene when students begin to express suicidal thoughts or threats. Educators and Counselors should be prepared to handle students that entire their schools and classrooms that are carrying the burden of depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts.

Emerging Issues
Even though the same students are not always walking through the halls of our schools there will be new students that deal with very similar issues each year. As more issues of student's suicide attempt or malpractice from the schools arise, it is important that schools and their staff understand the role they can play in early intervention with suicidal students.

Boston Children's Hospital. (n.d.) Suicide in teens and children, signs & symptoms. Retrieved from http://www.childrenshospital.org/conditions-and-treatments/conditions/s/suicide-and-teens/symptoms-and-causes 

]]> 2020-09-22 01:18:04 UTC https://padlet.com/rmoreno181/l87hdezzdlukz35z/wish/766466106 Slide #6: Texas Health and Safety Code - Statutory Law rmoreno181 https://padlet.com/rmoreno181/l87hdezzdlukz35z/wish/769448294 In the Texas Health and Safety Code, the school district is expected to provide parents and students with their procedures and plan for suicide prevention. The district must provide a list of educational materials that are utilized in teaching students about suicide prevention. They must also develop a procedure of how they will inform parents/guardians of a student that is showing signs of a potential suicide attempt. The district is also expected to develop a reporting system for students that might be at risk of showing self-harming behavior or committing a suicide attempt. 

(Tex. Health & Safety Code § 161.325) 


]]> 2020-09-22 18:03:12 UTC https://padlet.com/rmoreno181/l87hdezzdlukz35z/wish/769448294 Slide #7: Texas Education Code - Statutory Law rmoreno181 https://padlet.com/rmoreno181/l87hdezzdlukz35z/wish/769473650 In the Texas Education Code, districts are not required to select a suicide prevention plan for their campus. They are given a list of different prevention plans that they can select for the elementary, junior high, and high school level. If a school district decides to implement best practices for a suicide prevention plan, the staff that might interact with a student suffering from suicidal tendencies must go through proper training to ensure that they can deal with the student’s suicidal attempts and help provide intervention when needed. The staff must be able to recognize any early warning signs from a student and any need for early mental health intervention to assist in the prevention of a suicide attempt from a student.  The school must also be able to assist students that have attempted suicide with their re-enter into the building and classroom. 


(Tex. Ed. Code § 38.351)
]]> 2020-09-22 18:08:10 UTC https://padlet.com/rmoreno181/l87hdezzdlukz35z/wish/769473650 Slide #9: Suicide Prevention Plan - Administrative Law rmoreno181 https://padlet.com/rmoreno181/l87hdezzdlukz35z/wish/769492454 In the Texas Administrative Code, a facility must have a suicide prevention plan that is developed alongside the assistance of a mental health care provider. This plan must include a definition of moderate and severe/high risk behavior that might be seen with suicide. The plan must also indicate the intended screener that will be utilized with the plan. The plan should also include how patients will be referred to a mental health care provider based on them showing moderate or high risk suicidal behaviors. There should be policies and procedures for intervening on a suicide attempt, reporting attempts, and training for the staff. 
(Tex. Admin Code § 343. 340)]]> 2020-09-22 18:12:02 UTC https://padlet.com/rmoreno181/l87hdezzdlukz35z/wish/769492454 Slide #8: Wyke v. Polk County School Board - Judicial Law rmoreno181 https://padlet.com/rmoreno181/l87hdezzdlukz35z/wish/769586517 Student attempted suicide twice on school grounds and later committed suicide at home. The mother of the student sued the school for failing to train their staff in intervention/prevention for suicide. The mother also argued that the school failed to correctly supervise and protect her child while on the school grounds. The courts found that the school should have informed the mother that her child had attempted suicide twice while at school. The court also found that the school board was not to be held accountable for the student’s attempts at harming them self. The jury found that the school, the mother, and grandmother, with whom the child was living with, were all equally at fault for the child’s committed suicide. 

(898 F. Supp. 852)

]]> 2020-09-22 18:31:58 UTC https://padlet.com/rmoreno181/l87hdezzdlukz35z/wish/769586517 Slide #10: Lubbock Independent School District Suicide Prevention Policy rmoreno181 https://padlet.com/rmoreno181/l87hdezzdlukz35z/wish/769599659 Lubbock ISD gives the consent of further treatment of a student with a noticed mental health issue to the parents. Parents will be informed of the intervention being put in place for their child and provides outside resources for mental health support. The parent will only be informed when the student begins to show early warning signs of suicidal thoughts based on our school suicide prevention policy (Lubbock ISD, 2020). 

Lubbock Independent School District. (2020). Student Handbook 2020-2021. Retrieved from https://www.lubbockisd.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=28512&dataid=25319&FileName=20-21%20LISD%20Student%20Handbook%208.19.20.pdf

]]> 2020-09-22 18:35:02 UTC https://padlet.com/rmoreno181/l87hdezzdlukz35z/wish/769599659 Slide #3: American School Counselor Association Professional Association Position Statement on Suicide Prevention/Awareness rmoreno181 https://padlet.com/rmoreno181/l87hdezzdlukz35z/wish/770554115 The American School Counselor Association, ASCA,  provides counselors with resources that help support their comprehensive school counseling programs. There are resources such as: ethical standards, mindsets and behaviors expected for students, and numerous articles to help them develop and implement a counseling program that provides their staff and students with the best services.

As a school counselor, you work towards promoting the student's academic, behavioral, social, and career goals through your comprehensive school counseling program. It is your ethical and moral responsibility to report any suspect suicide risks and ensure that prevention methods are in place. It is important that as the school counselor, you are informed of warning signs, knowledgeable about resources that can be utilized and recommended, training staff and students of how to recognize warning signs of suicidal behavior, and referring students who are exhibiting suicidal behaviors to the prepare community agencies that can offer support to them (ASCA, 2018).

American School Counselor Association. (2018). The school counselor and suicide prevention/awareness. Retrieved from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/PositionStatements/PS_Suicide.pdf

]]> 2020-09-23 01:41:07 UTC https://padlet.com/rmoreno181/l87hdezzdlukz35z/wish/770554115 Slide #4: Four Leading National Organizations Launch Suicide Prevention Template Plan for Schools - News Article rmoreno181 https://padlet.com/rmoreno181/l87hdezzdlukz35z/wish/770599063 - Suicide prevention for young students is a growing concern for people across the country.
- Nearly 1/3 of all American high school students have experienced feelings of hopelessness or sadness (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, 2019).
- Four different organizations have collaborated to update the Model School policy, which is a guidebook for school administrators.
- This guidebook provides ideas and guidelines as any K-12 school works to create their policy for prevention, intervention, and postvention for suicide (American Foundation for Suicide, 2019).

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. (2019). Four leading national organizations launch suicide prevention template plan for schools. Retrieved from https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/four-leading-national-organizations-launch-suicide-prevention-template-plan-for-schools-300913539.html


]]> 2020-09-23 02:04:09 UTC https://padlet.com/rmoreno181/l87hdezzdlukz35z/wish/770599063 Slide #5: Spanish Fork implements suicide prevention efforts as part of a citywide wellness initiative - News Article rmoreno181 https://padlet.com/rmoreno181/l87hdezzdlukz35z/wish/773598963 - The entire city of Spanish Fork comes together to combat mental health wellness and provide schools in the Nebo School District with a suicide prevention program.

-The initiative came after another teen in the community and a member of the Youth City Council took their own lives.

- The grant provided $225,000 for the community to show how they would promote mental health awareness. The city felt that it was more than just the school's job to prevent suicide and that if their community came together they could work to prevent the rising number of suicides.

- The city formed support groups, implemented gate keeper trainings, reduced lethal means access, increased broad postvention efforts, and reduced barriers to care (Brown, 2020).

- Through the city's implementation of trainings, education, and providing support to their members they have seen a positive change occur in their community.

- The community is working together to save future generations.


Brown, A. (2020). Spanish fork implements suicide prevention efforts as part of a citywide wellness initiative. Daily Herald. Retrieved from https://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/south/spanish-fork/spanish-fork-implements-suicide-prevention-efforts-as-part-of-citywide-wellness-initiative/article_8c8cba4a-7ac9-5de6-bd7c-57a0ed0ef034.html


]]> 2020-09-23 19:35:37 UTC https://padlet.com/rmoreno181/l87hdezzdlukz35z/wish/773598963 Slide #11: ASCA Ethical Standards rmoreno181 https://padlet.com/rmoreno181/l87hdezzdlukz35z/wish/780447166 If a student on a campus begins to show warning signs of causing harm to themselves, as a result of having suicidal thoughts, it is a school counselor's ethical responsibility to provide an intervention plan for correct reporting and risk assessment of the situation. If a 4th grade student is using suicidal threats in the classroom, the counselor must ensure that teachers and other support staff are aware of the intervention steps to ensure that the student does not cause true harm to themselves and that they resolve the situation without drawing attention to the student. According to the American School Counselor Association, ASCA, section A, responsibility to stduents, states that my intervention plan for students that are causing harm to themselves should be in place prior to any incidents occurring on the school grounds (ASCA, 2016, p. 4). The parents/guardians of the student must be informed of the risk assessment that is performed on the student to ensure that they are aware of what occurred during their time with me.

American School Counselor Association. (2016). ASCA ethical standards for school counselors. Retrieved from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/Ethics/EthicalStandards2016.pdf


]]> 2020-09-25 18:46:06 UTC https://padlet.com/rmoreno181/l87hdezzdlukz35z/wish/780447166 Slide #12: Child and Adolescent Suicidal Behavior: School-based prevention, assessment, and intervention - Book Resource rmoreno181 https://padlet.com/rmoreno181/l87hdezzdlukz35z/wish/780483701 This book provides counselors and administrators an insight into how suicidal students might function in and out of the classroom. It also provides assistance in the development of the school's suicide prevention plan and gives helpful strategies for prevention and postvention with students.

Miller, D. N. (2011). Child and adolescent suicidal behavior : school-based prevention, assessment, and intervention. Guilford Press.]]> 2020-09-25 18:57:27 UTC https://padlet.com/rmoreno181/l87hdezzdlukz35z/wish/780483701 Slide #13: Best Practices for Compliance/Recommendations rmoreno181 https://padlet.com/rmoreno181/l87hdezzdlukz35z/wish/780533959 - As a school counselor, ensure that every staff member is fully trained in the school's suicide prevention no matter what grade level they teach. Every staff member should be prepared to notice warnings signs and be able to quickly intervene when passing a student. 

-School counselors should continue to attend professional development on suicidal behaviors and strategies to ensure that they are always prepared to notice and intervene with students over any other staff member in their building.

- Students that students from 4th-12th grade are trained in identifying warnings signs for suicidal behavior to help support prevention and intervention of any student that might be contemplating suicide. 

- The school counselor should work to develop guidance lessons that work to build community within the classroom and school to ensure that students feel accepted while they are on the school grounds.

- Since there is a strong connection between bullying and suicide, the school counselor should ensure that the bullying prevention plan is also communicated to staff and students to ensure that students feel respected and accepted while they are at school, and staff members understand how to report incidents of bullying properly.

- The school counselor should work to create lunch/study groups with students that are on staff member's "radar" for possible bullying/suicidal behaviors to ensure that the student know who you are as the school counselor, but also that the students feel heard when they do bring up concerns about how they might be treated by other students at the school. 

- Ensure that every student knows your name and face and has a way of getting in contact with you or reporting an incident with you whenever the need arises.   ]]> 2020-09-25 19:15:26 UTC https://padlet.com/rmoreno181/l87hdezzdlukz35z/wish/780533959