DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part of the
legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute part of the law
or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HB 840 Original 2020 Regular Session Freiberg
Abstract: Provides relative to the safety of students, including in-service training and instruction
on suicide prevention and instruction on violence prevention and social inclusion.
Suicide prevention
Present law (R.S. 17:282.4) requires the State Bd. of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE)
to provide by rule for a statewide youth suicide prevention plan in public schools, including
procedures for the development of youth suicide prevention programs. Provides that any such
program may include classroom instruction designed to achieve any of the following objectives:
(1)Encourage sound decisionmaking and promote ethical development.
(2)Increase student awareness of the relationship between drug and alcohol use and youth
suicide.
(3)Teach students to recognize signs of suicidal tendencies and other facts about youth suicide.
(4)Inform students of the available community youth suicide prevention services.
(5)Further cooperative efforts of school personnel and community youth suicide prevention
program personnel.
Proposed law adds teaching students how to identify signs and signals of depression and self-injury
and informing students about the importance of seeking help for themselves and their peers to these
objectives.
Present law provides that any local youth suicide prevention program may be established and
implemented in a school system upon identifying and securing funds or services from other state and
local agencies. Proposed law adds federal funds and grants from private foundations to funds that
school systems may identify and secure for this purpose.
Present law (R.S. 17:437.1) provides the following relative to in-service training for teachers and
school employees regarding suicide prevention:
(1)Requires public and nonpublic school teachers, counselors, and administrators to participate
annually in in-service training relative to suicide prevention. (2)Requires BESE to adopt guidelines for such training and identify suitable programs for use
in such training and the state Dept. of Education to post a listing of such programs on its
website.
(3)Requires training to address certain topics, including increasing awareness of risk factors;
how teachers should respond to suspicious behavior or warning signs and crisis situations
in which a student is an imminent danger to himself; policies for communicating with
parents; available counseling services; dissemination of information on crisis intervention,
suicide prevention, and mental health services; and available community organizations and
agencies for referral of students.
Proposed law adds that such training shall also address how to identify the warning signs of
depression, suicide, and self-injury.
School safety
Present law provides relative to the reporting and investigations of threats of violence or terrorism
at schools, including the requirements that (a) school employees report credible and imminent threats
to law enforcement and school administrators and (b) public school governing authorities adopt
policies for the investigation of reported threats.
Proposed law requires:
(1)Each public school serving students in grades 6-12 to provide at least one hour or one
standard class period of evidence-based instruction in violence prevention each school year
and create and provide for a student-led violence prevention club.
(2)Each public school serving students in grades K-12 to provide at least one hour or one
standard class period of evidence-based instruction on social inclusion each school year.
(Amends R.S. 17:282.4(C)(1)(c) and (d) and (D)(2) and 437.1(B)(2)(b); Adds R.S. 17:410.1)