JHDF: Suicide Awareness and Prevention

Purpose Suicide is a leading cause of death among youths in Missouri and is a public health concern impacting all Missouri citizens. The district is committed to maintaining a safe environment to protect the health, safety and welfare of students.

This policy outlines key protocols and procedures the district will use to raise awareness of suicide and the steps that can be taken to prevent it. The goal of the district is to help students, including students receiving their education virtually, who may be at risk of suicide without stigmatizing students or excluding them from school. The board will provide the resources necessary to meet this goal. No student will be excluded from school based solely on the district's belief that the student is at risk of suicide.

Definitions Crisis Response Team (CRT) – A team of district employees trained in suicide awareness and prevention.

Student at Risk of Suicide – A student who is demonstrating individual, relationship, community or societal factors that are associated with suicide and that in combination indicate that an individual might be contemplating suicide.

Suicide Crisis – A situation in which a person is attempting suicide or is seriously contemplating or planning suicide. Planning may include, but is not limited to, a timeframe and method for attempting suicide or obtaining or attempting to obtain the means to attempt suicide. A suicide crisis is considered a medical emergency requiring immediate intervention.

Crisis Response Team The district will establish a district-level CRT and, if practical, a team in each building. CRT members will include administrators, counselors and the school nurse and may also include school social workers, school resource officers, teachers and community members as appropriate. The CRT will be responsible for implementation of the district's response plan.

The district will use an evidence-based/informed tool for determining whether a student is at risk of suicide or is having a suicide crisis. The CRT members and the building administrator will receive training and coaching in using this tool to assist in making determinations as to whether a student may be at risk of suicide and the appropriate response. Any such determination shall be made by multiple team members. If the district has a behavioral risk assessment team, a threat assessment team or any similar team that monitors students considered “at risk,” those teams must immediately contact the CRT if the team has identified a student who might be at risk for self-harm or suicide.

Response Plan District employees will respond immediately in situations where they have a reasonable belief that a student may be at risk of suicide or may be having a suicide crisis.

Students Who May Be at Risk of Suicide

Any district employee who has a reasonable belief that a student may be at risk of suicide, even though the student is not having a suicide crisis as defined in this policy, will take the following steps:

Find another employee and make every effort to locate the student immediately. One of the employees must stay with the student.

While one employee stays with the student, the other will notify a CRT member or the building administrator or designee. If the employee cannot reach the building administrator, designee or any of the CRT members, the employee will contact the student's parent/guardian. If the parent/guardian is also unavailable, or at the parent's/guardian's request, the employee will contact emergency services. When a CRT member or the building administrator or designee receives notification that a student may be at risk of suicide, the CRT member, administrator or designee will take the following steps:

If the student cannot be located or leaves after being located, contact the parent/guardian to explain the district's concern.

If the student has been located, use an evidence-based/informed tool to determine whether the student is at risk of suicide and the appropriate response. Regardless of the determination, the building administrator or designee will contact the student's parent/guardian to discuss the concern.

If it is determined that the student may be at risk of suicide, appropriate members of the CRT will meet with the student and the student's parents/guardians to discuss support and safety systems, available resources, coping skills and collaborative ways to support the student. Students Who May Be Having a Suicide Crisis

If an employee reasonably believes that a student is having a suicide crisis, the employee will take the following steps:

Find another employee and make every effort to locate the student immediately. One of the employees must stay with the student.

Immediately report the situation to a CRT member or the building administrator or designee. If the employee cannot reach the building administrator, designee or any of the CRT members, the employee will notify the student's parent/guardian and contact emergency services. The employee may also contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (800-273-8255) or 988 for assistance. As soon as practical, the employee will notify the building administrator or designee. When a CRT member or the building administrator or designee receives notification that a student is believed to be having a suicide crisis, the CRT member, administrator or designee will take the following steps:

If the student cannot be located or leaves after being located, a CRT member or the building administrator or designee will contact the parent/guardian to explain the district's concern.

If the student has been located, the CRT member and the building administrator or designee will, based on their training and an assessment of the student, determine the appropriate action, including whether to call emergency services, and implement the appropriate response.

At an appropriate time after the crisis has passed, appropriate CRT members will meet with the student and the student's parents/guardians to discuss support and safety systems, available resources, coping skills and collaborative ways to support the student. Students Attending Virtually

In addition to monitoring the attendance and academic progress of students receiving education virtually (virtual learners), the district must also monitor virtual learners who may be at risk for suicide. Building administrators will develop procedures for monitoring the social/emotional health, including suicide risk, of virtual learners in conjunction with monitoring attendance and academic progress that will include: Identifying staff members who will contact virtual learners on a regular basis;

Providing hard copies of student contact information to those assigned to contact virtual learners as a backup to Internet access of student records;

Creating a few questions designed to assess a virtual learner's social and emotional health that will be asked in conjunction with questions about academic progress;

Creating a written set of instructions for employees to follow if the employee suspects the virtual learner may be at risk of suicide or self-harm; and

Notifying the CRT. To the extent possible, the superintendent or designee will work with the teachers hired by Missouri Course Access and Virtual School Program (MOCAP) providers to solicit information about the social and emotional health of the virtual learners in their courses. Confidentiality Employees are required to share with the CRT and administrators or their designees any information that may be relevant in determining whether a student is at risk of suicide, is having a suicide crisis or is otherwise at risk of harm. Employees are prohibited from promising students that information shared by the student will be kept secret when the information is relevant to the student's safety or the safety of another person.

Release of a student's individually identifiable education records will be made in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). In accordance with FERPA, information contained in a student's education records may be revealed at any time to the student's parents/guardians and school personnel who have a legitimate interest in the information. Education records may be shared with other appropriate persons when necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or others.

Abuse and Neglect If any employee of the district has reasonable cause to believe a student has been or may be subjected to abuse or neglect or observes the student being subjected to conditions or circumstances that would reasonably result in abuse or neglect, the employee will contact the Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline in accordance with law and board policy.

Accommodating a Disability If at any time a parent/guardian informs the district that a student has a medical condition or impairment that could require accommodation, district employees will contact the district's compliance coordinator to determine whether the student has a disability.

School and Community Resources The district will, in collaboration with local organizations and the Missouri Department of Mental Health, identify local, state and national resources and organizations that can provide information or support to students and families. Copies of or links to resources will be available to all students and families on the district's website and in all district schools.

A CRT member will follow up with students who have been identified as being at risk of suicide or who have had a suicide crisis and their parents/guardians to offer additional assistance. The CRT will determine the number and frequency of follow-up visits. If a student transfers to virtual learning or is otherwise not present in school, the district will, to the extent possible, continue providing any supportive services the student was receiving from the district while in physical attendance.

The district will request permission from the parent/guardian to consult with the student's outside medical provider to assist in determining what interventions the district should use.

Beginning July 1, 2023, identification badges issued to students in grades 7–12 shall include the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline three-digit phone number, 988, on both sides of the badge. Badges purchased prior to this date may be used until the supply is depleted.

Response to Incidents Impacting the School When the school community is impacted by the attempted suicide or death by suicide of a student, staff member or other person in the school community, the superintendent or designee will confer with the district-level CRT and, when appropriate, confer with local community resources and professionals to identify and make available supports that may help the school community understand and process the behavior or death.

The CRT and the superintendent or designee will determine appropriate procedures for informing the school community of an attempted suicide or death by suicide and the supports that will be offered. Staff and students who need immediate attention following an attempted suicide or death by suicide will be provided support and resources available through the district and will be given information about other resources.

Return to School Following a Suicide Attempt Students who have attempted suicide are at greater risk to attempt to harm themselves again and require support when returning to school. The building administrator will designate an appropriate employee to serve as a case manager for a student returning to school after a suicide attempt. The case manager will:

Meet with the student and family prior to the return date;

Study the student's records, including the events that precipitated the attempt if available;

Provide information about the student to teachers and other staff members to the extent necessary to support the student's return;

Meet with the student regularly; and

Assist the student and family in finding supportive services outside of the school. Staff Education on Suicide Prevention and Response Protocol All district employees will receive information regarding this policy and the district's protocol for suicide awareness, prevention and response. This information will be provided to current employees and each new employee hired. The information will focus on the importance of suicide prevention, recognition of suicide risk factors, strategies to strengthen school connectedness, and response procedures and will include:

Strategies that can help identify students who are at possible risk of suicide;

Strategies and protocols for helping students at possible risk of suicide; and

Protocols for responding to a suicide death. The district will also provide opportunities for district staff to participate in professional development regarding suicide awareness and prevention. Opportunities may include district-led training, access to web-based training, or training provided in other school districts or by local organizations or health professionals.

Suicide Prevention Education for Students Starting no later than fifth grade, students will receive age-appropriate information and instruction on suicide awareness and prevention. Information and instruction may be offered in health education, by the counseling staff or in other curricula as may be appropriate.

Policy Publication The district will notify employees, students and parents/guardians of this policy by posting this policy on the district's website and providing information about the policy to district employees. The district may also include information about the policy in appropriate district publications and student handbooks.

MSIP

CC-1

TL-10

TL-7

EBCA: Crisis Intervention Plan

§ 170.047-.048, RSMo