5350 - STUDENT SUICIDE AWARENESS AND PREVENTION

1. The Board recognizes that suicide is one of the leading causes of death for Florida's youth. To address the prevalence of student suicide, the Board believes there must be a partnership between families, the community, and schools. It is critical for families and community members to communicate with and provide information to school staff to identify students at risk of suicide.
2. The Board will provide access to suicide prevention educational resources to all instructional and administrative staff as part of the District's professional learning program. The suicide educational resources will include material approved by the Statewide Office for Suicide Prevention, the Florida Suicide Prevention Coalition, and the Coordinated School Health Resource Center. The District's student services staff will be responsible for providing suicide prevention, awareness, and screening training and resources through the Suicide Risk Inquiry (SRI) process.
3. All school personnel should be alert to signs of suicide ideation and to students who threaten or attempt suicide.  Suicide ideation is the process of fantasizing, planning, practicing, and motivating oneself to commit suicide. Any such signs or the report of such signs from another student or staff member should be taken with the utmost seriousness. Families, community members, and students are encouraged to report any such signs to the school principal or designee.
4. All schools and local mobile response teams shall use the same suicide screening instrument approved by the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) pursuant to F.S. 1012.583. Only school-based mental health service providers who have been trained in the use of the instruments utilized by the District may give a risk assessment to a student expressing suicidal ideation or suicidal intent. 
5. A “school-based mental health services provider” means a school psychologist certified under F.A.C. 6A-4.0311, a school social worker certified under F.A.C. 6A-4.035, a school counselor certified under F.A.C. 6A-4.0181, or a mental health professional licensed under F.S. Chapters 490 or 491, who is employed or contracted by the District to provide mental health services in its schools.
6. If a trained school-based mental health services provider is unavailable, a certified or licensed mental health staff from the mobile response teams serving the District may evaluate students. 
7. When a suicide risk assessment results in the initiation of an involuntary examination, the Principal is required to make a reasonable attempt to notify the student's parent(s) before the student is removed from school, school transportation, or a school-sponsored activity, unless notification is delayed pursuant to F.S. 1002.20.
8. When a suicide risk assessment results in a change in related services or monitoring, a student's parent(s) must be notified as soon as possible, unlessnotification is withheld or delayed pursuant to AP 1213, AP 3213, or AP 4213 - Student Supervision and Welfare. 
9. Professional learning training in youth suicide prevention shall be provided for student services staff, administration, and instructional staff. Further, additional professional learning regarding risk assessment and intervention shall be provided to mental health employees, counselors, psychologists, social workers, and school nurses.
10. The training for student services staff, administration, and instructional staff shall develop an understanding of how to provide an intervention procedure which includes the following:
    
    Step 1 - Stabilization
    
    Step 2 - Assessment of the Risk
    
    Step 3 - Use of Appropriate Risk Procedure - Administration of an FDOE-approved Suicide Risk Inquiry must be administered by appropriate personnel (certified or licensed school psychologist, school social worker, or school counselor) prior to a Baker Act.
    
    Step 4 - Communication with Appropriate Parties
    
    Step 5 - Follow-up
    
    Throughout any intervention, it is essential that Board policies and District regulations regarding confidentiality be observed at all times.
11. Youth Suicide Awareness and Prevention.
     
    1. Training
       
       A two (2.0) hour continuing education program of youth suicide awareness and prevention training, utilizing training materials approved by the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE), shall be available at all District schools. Instruction about how to identify appropriate school-based mental health services, responding to a student with suicidal ideation or suicidal intent, District guidelines for informing parents of suicide risk, and how to refer youth and their families to those services shall be included in the program.
    2. Suicide Prevention Certified Schools
       
       Any District school that meets the following requirements shall be considered a “Suicide Prevention Certified School” under Florida law:
        
       1. All instructional personnel at the school have participated in the two (2.0) hours of youth suicide awareness and prevention training, and repeat training every three (3) years; 
       2. The school has at least two (2) school-based staff members certified or otherwise deemed competent in the use of a suicide screening instrument approved by the FLDOE and has a policy to use such suicide risk screening instruments to evaluate a student’s risk before requesting the initiation of an involuntary examination due to concerns about the student’s suicide risk.
    3. The Superintendent or designee will notify the FLDOE of all schools qualifying for this designation. Each school shall also post on its own website whether it is a Suicide Prevention Certified School and the District shall post on its website a list of the Suicide Prevention Certified Schools in the District.
12. Pursuant to State law, participating in the training does not create any new duty of care or the basis of liability.
13. Any student identification cards issued to students in grades 6 through 12 will include the telephone numbers for national or Statewide crisis and suicide hotlines and text lines.

Revised 7/22/14
Revised 9/11/18

Revised 2/11/20

Revised 2/23/21

Revised 3/12/24

Revised 5/12/26

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