STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 10551 IN ASSEMBLY June 3, 2024 ___________ Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Woerner) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to enacting the student suicide prevention act The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "student suicide prevention act". 3 § 2. The education law is amended by adding a new article 2-A to read 4 as follows: 5 ARTICLE 2-A 6 STUDENT SUICIDE PREVENTION 7 Section 20. Legislative intent. 8 21. Definitions. 9 22. Policies, procedures, and guidelines. 10 23. Application. 11 24. Severability and construction. 12 § 20. Legislative intent. The legislature finds and declares the 13 following: 1. According to data from the federal Centers for Disease 14 Control and Prevention as reported in the year two thousand sixteen, 15 suicide is the second leading cause of death for youth and young adults 16 ten to twenty-four years of age, inclusive, in both the United States 17 and in New York state. 18 2. As children and teens spend a significant amount of their young 19 lives in school, the personnel who interact with them on a daily basis 20 are essential gatekeepers for recognizing warning signs of suicide and 21 making the appropriate referrals for help. 22 3. In a national survey conducted by the Jason Foundation, a teacher 23 was identified as the number one person to whom a student would turn to 24 help a friend who might be suicidal. It is imperative that when a young 25 person comes to a teacher for help, such teacher has the knowledge, 26 tools, and resources to respond correctly. 27 4. In the year two thousand eighteen, the federal Centers for Disease 28 Control and Prevention found in its Youth Risk Behavior Survey that EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD05374-01-3
A. 10551 2 1 lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth are almost four times more likely to 2 seriously consider attempting suicide, have made a suicide plan, or have 3 attempted suicide, than their heterosexual peers. 4 5. There are national hotlines available to help adults and youth, 5 including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning 6 (LGBTQ) youth, who are experiencing suicidal ideation or who are worried 7 about a family member or peer who may be at risk, including the National 8 Suicide Prevention Lifeline, the Crisis Text Line, the Trevor Project 9 Lifeline, and TrevorChat. 10 6. According to the Family Acceptance Project, research has found 11 that, for an LGBTQ youth, having at least one supportive adult can 12 reduce the youth's risk of suicide. 13 7. New York state schools face the serious issues of students at high 14 risk of suicide and death by suicide in the school communities. School 15 personnel must be supported by clear policies and procedures, which 16 serve as an easily-accessible roadmap, eliminate confusion over educator 17 roles and the referral process, and equip educators with the tools to 18 respond safely when a suicide does occur in the school community. 19 § 21. Definitions. For the purposes of this article, the following 20 terms shall have the following meanings: 1. "Crisis situation" means a 21 situation where a teacher or other local educational agency employee 22 believes a student or other individual is in imminent danger of a 23 suicide attempt. 24 2. "LGBTQ" means individuals who identify, with regards to gender, as 25 being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning. 26 3. "Local educational agency" means a school district, board of coop- 27 erative educational services, school, or the education department. 28 4. "Suicide intervention" means specific actions schools can take in 29 response to suicidal behavior by a student, including, but not limited 30 to: 31 a. student supervision; 32 b. notification of parents or guardians; 33 c. crisis situation response protocols; 34 d. when and how to request an immediate mental health assessment or 35 emergency services; and 36 e. school re-entry procedures following a student mental health 37 crisis. 38 5. "Suicide postvention" means planned support and interventions 39 schools can implement after a suicide attempt or suicide death of a 40 member of the school community that are designed to: 41 a. reduce the risk of the spread of suicidal thoughts or intentions; 42 b. provide support for affected students and school-based personnel; 43 c. address the social stigma associated with suicide; and 44 d. disseminate factual information about suicide and its prevention. 45 6. "Suicide prevention" means specific actions schools can take to 46 recognize and reduce suicidal behavior, including, but not limited to: 47 a. identifying risks and protective factors for suicide and suicide 48 warning signs; 49 b. establishing a process by which students are referred to a mental 50 and behavioral health provider for help; 51 c. making available school-based and community-based mental health 52 supports; 53 d. providing the location of available online and community suicide 54 prevention resources, including local crisis centers and hotlines;
A. 10551 3 1 e. adopting policies and protocols regarding suicide prevention, 2 intervention, and postvention, school safety, and response to crisis 3 situations; 4 f. training for school personnel who interact directly with students 5 in recognizing suicide risks and warning signs and how to refer students 6 for further assessment and evaluation; and 7 g. instruction to students in problem-solving and coping skills to 8 promote students' mental, emotional, and social health and well-being, 9 and instruction in recognizing and appropriately responding to signs of 10 suicidal intent in others. 11 § 22. Policies, procedures, and guidelines. 1. The governing board or 12 body of every local educational agency that serves students in grades 13 seven to twelve, inclusive, shall, before the first day of August, two 14 thousand twenty-three, adopt policies, procedures, and guidelines on 15 student suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention for students 16 in such grades. Such policies, procedures, and guidelines shall be 17 developed in consultation with school and community stakeholders, 18 school-employed mental health professionals, and suicide prevention 19 experts, and shall include, but not be limited to: 20 a. methods to increase awareness of the relationship between suicide 21 and suicide risk factors including, but not limited to: 22 i. mental health and substance use conditions; 23 ii. childhood abuse, neglect, or trauma; 24 iii. prolonged stress, including individual experiences such as bully- 25 ing, harassment, family or relationship stress, or other stressful life 26 events, as well as collective stressors such as systemic bias and 27 discrimination; 28 iv. exposure to another person's suicide, or sensationalized or graph- 29 ic accounts of suicide; and 30 v. previous suicide attempts or history of suicide within a student's 31 family; 32 b. identification of training opportunities on recognizing suicide 33 risks, and referral procedures available to school employees; 34 c. availability of expertise from school employees who have been 35 trained in recognizing suicide risks, and referral procedures; 36 d. how school employees should respond to suspicion, concerns, or 37 warning signs of suicide in students; 38 e. how school employees should respond to a crisis situation where a 39 student is in imminent danger to himself or herself; 40 f. policies and protocols for communication with parents, including 41 those that specify what to do if parental notification is not in the 42 best interest of the student; 43 g. counseling services available within the school for students and 44 their families that are related to suicide prevention; 45 h. availability of information concerning crisis situation inter- 46 vention, suicide prevention, and mental health services in the community 47 for students and their families and school employees; 48 i. identification and development of partnerships with community 49 organizations and agencies for referral of students to health, mental 50 health, substance use, and social support services, including develop- 51 ment of at least one memorandum of understanding between the local 52 education agency and such an organization or agency in the community or 53 region; 54 j. development of a culturally competent plan to assist survivors of 55 attempted suicide and to assist students and school employees in coping
A. 10551 4 1 with an attempted suicide or a suicide death within the school communi- 2 ty; and 3 k. development of any other related program or activity for students 4 or school employees. 5 2. The policies, procedures, and guidelines adopted pursuant to subdi- 6 vision one of this section shall specifically address the needs of high- 7 risk groups, including, but not limited to, the following: 8 a. youth who have lost a friend or family member to suicide; 9 b. youth with disabilities or with chronic health conditions, includ- 10 ing mental health and substance use conditions; 11 c. youth experiencing homelessness or in out-of-home settings, such as 12 foster care; and 13 d. LGBTQ youth. 14 3. The policies, procedures, and guidelines adopted pursuant to subdi- 15 vision one of this section shall be written to ensure that a school 16 employee acts only within the authorization and scope of such employee's 17 credential or license. Nothing in this section shall be construed as 18 authorizing or encouraging a school employee to diagnose or treat mental 19 health conditions unless such employee is specifically licensed and 20 employed to do so. 21 4. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, no 22 cause of action may be brought for any loss or damage caused by any act 23 or omission resulting from the implementation of the provisions of this 24 article, or resulting from any training, or lack of training, required 25 by this article. Nothing in this article shall be construed to impose 26 any specific duty of care. 27 5. To assist local educational agencies in developing policies for 28 student suicide prevention, the department shall develop and maintain 29 model policies, procedures, and guidelines in accordance with this 30 section to serve as a guide for local educational agencies. Such model 31 policies, procedures, and guidelines shall be posted within thirty days 32 of their completion on the department's internet website, along with 33 relevant resources and information to support schools in developing and 34 implementing the policies, procedures, and guidelines required under 35 subdivision one of this section. 36 6. The governing board or body of a local educational agency that 37 serves students in grades seven to twelve, inclusive, shall review, at 38 minimum every fifth year following the effective date of this article, 39 its policies, procedures, and guidelines on student suicide prevention 40 and, if necessary, update such policies, procedures, and guidelines. 41 § 23. Application. The provisions of this article shall apply to all 42 private and public educational institutions in New York state. 43 § 24. Severability and construction. The provisions of this article 44 shall be severable, and if any court of competent jurisdiction declares 45 any phrase, clause, sentence or provision of this article to be invalid, 46 or its applicability to any government agency, person or circumstance is 47 declared invalid, the remainder of this article and its relevant appli- 48 cability shall not be affected. The provisions of this article shall be 49 liberally construed to give effect to the purposes thereof. 50 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.