Rocklin Unified School District

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Suicide Prevention

Suicide Prevention

Grades K-6 Policy (Flesch-Kincaid Readability = 72-78 6th Grade)

The Rocklin Unified School District (RUSD) wants every student to feel safe, supported, and connected. This policy explains how we prevent suicide, how we respond when a student may be in danger, and how we support the school community after a crisis. (Board Policy 5141.52: Suicide Prevention)

PREVENTION

Rocklin Unified will take steps to help stop suicide before it happens. These steps include:

Staff Training
Teachers, counselors, and other school employees who work with secondary students will receive training on:
- Suicide warning signs.
- How to talk with students.
- What to do if a student may be thinking about suicide.
Student Learning
Students will receive lessons that teach them:
- How to solve problems and cope with stress.
- How to recognize signs of depression or self-harm.
- Why it is important to get help when they or a friend are struggling.
- How to talk honestly, listen to others, and share feelings.
- How to contact trusted adults and crisis resources.

Rocklin Unified's health education program will include age-appropriate lessons on mental, emotional, and social health. These lessons will match state standards.

Positive School Climate
Schools will work to create a caring, welcoming environment where students feel connected to adults and to each other.
Parent Information
- Parents/guardians will receive information about:
- Suicide risk factors and warning signs.
- How serious youth suicide is.
- What the district teaches about suicide prevention.
- How to help a young person in crisis.
- School and community resources.

INTERVENTION
Rocklin Unified will take action when a student talks about suicide, shows warning signs, or attempts self-harm. These actions include:

Reporting Concerns
- Students are encouraged to tell a trusted adult if:
- They are having thoughts of suicide, or
- They know another student who may be thinking about suicide.
Immediate Response
All statements about suicidal intent will be taken seriously. If a staff member hears or suspects a student may be thinking about suicide, the staff member must immediately tell the principal or school counselor. The principal or counselor will follow district procedures to keep the student safe.
Confidentiality and Safety
In most cases, a counselor keeps student information private. But the counselor may share information with:
- The principal.
- The parent/guardian.
- A mental health professional.
- The school nurse.

This can only happen when sharing the information is needed to prevent serious danger (Education Code 49602). Staff may not diagnose or treat mental illness unless they are licensed and hired to do so (Education Code 2015).

Peer Counseling
- If a school has peer counselors, those students must be trained to:
- Recognize warning signs.
- Refer a student to an adult.
When a Threat or Attempt Happens
The principal or designee will:
- Get medical or mental health help right away.
- Call law enforcement or emergency services if the danger is immediate.
- Keep the student under adult supervision until a parent/guardian or support agency arrives.
- Move other students away from the area.
- Document what happened and how the school responded.
Follow-Up
The Superintendent or designee will follow up with the family and make sure the student is connected to needed services. If the family does not seek treatment, the Superintendent or designee will help identify barriers and support the family. If help is still not accessed, the district may need to consider a report to child protective services.
Return to School
When a student comes back after a mental health crisis, the principal or counselor may meet with the student and family to:
- Plan for a safe return.
- Discuss supports.
- Decide what the student needs moving forward.

POSTVENTION (AFTER A CRISIS)
If a student dies by suicide or makes a suicide attempt, the district will support students, staff, and families.

Support for the School Community
The district may:
- Provide counseling.
- Offer resources to students, staff, and families.
- Help people cope with grief.
- Take steps to prevent suicide contagion.

The Superintendent or designee will communicate with the student’s family to offer condolences, support, and guidance. They will also talk with the family about what information can be shared with the school community, following confidentiality laws.

Talking with Students
Counselors and mental health professionals may help staff decide how to talk with students in a safe and appropriate way.
Media Requests
All media inquiries will be handled by the district spokesperson. The district will not share confidential information or portray suicide in a way that could encourage imitation.
Staff Debriefing
After a suicide or suicide attempt, staff who responded will have the chance to:
- Review what happened.
- Talk about what worked.
- Recommend improvements for the future.
Students with Higher Risk
The district will give special attention to students who may be at higher risk of suicide, including:
- Students who are grieving a loss.
- Students with disabilities, mental illness, or substance use disorders.
- Students experiencing homelessness or in foster care.
- Students who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ+) (Education Code 215).

The Board will review this policy at least every five years and update it if needed (Education Code 215).

Grades 7-12 Policy (Flesch-Kindcaid Readability = 28-32, 12 Grade 12+)

The Board of Trustees recognizes that suicide is a leading cause of death among youth and that school personnel who regularly interact with students are often in a position to recognize the warning signs of suicide and to offer appropriate referral and/or assistance. In an effort to reduce suicidal behavior and its impact on students and families, the Superintendent or designee shall develop measures and strategies for suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention.

In developing measures and strategies for use by the district, the Superintendent or designee may consult with school health professionals, school counselors, school psychologists, school social workers, administrators, other staff, parents/guardians, students, suicide prevention experts, local health agencies, mental health professionals, and community organizations. (Board Policy 5141.52: Suicide Prevention)

PREVENTION

Such prevention measures and strategies shall include, but are not limited to:

Staff development on suicide awareness and prevention for teachers, school counselors, and other district employees who interact with students in the secondary grades
Prevention instruction to students in problem-solving and coping skills to promote students' mental, emotional, and social health and well-being, as well as instruction in recognizing and appropriately responding to warning signs of suicidal intent in others
The district's comprehensive health education program shall promote the healthy mental, emotional, and social development of students and shall be aligned with the state content standards and curriculum framework. Suicide prevention instruction shall be incorporated into the health education curriculum at appropriate secondary grades and shall be designed to help students:
- Identify and analyze signs of depression and self-destructive behaviors and understand how feelings of depression, loss, isolation, inadequacy, and anxiety can lead to thoughts of suicide
- Develop coping and resiliency skills and self-esteem
- Learn to listen, be honest, share feelings, and get help when communicating with friends who show signs of suicidal intent
- Identify trusted adults, school resources, and/or community crisis intervention resources where youth can get help and recognize that there is no stigma associated with seeking services for mental health, substance abuse, and/or suicide prevention
Methods for promoting a positive school climate that enhances students' feelings of connectedness with the school and that is characterized by caring staff and harmonious interrelationships among students
The provision of information to parents/guardians regarding risk factors and warning signs of suicide, the severity of the youth suicide problem, the district's suicide prevention curriculum, basic steps for helping suicidal youth, and/or school and community resources that can help youth in crisis

INTERVENTION
Such intervention measures and strategies include, but are not limited to:

Encouragement for students to notify appropriate school personnel or other adults when they are experiencing thoughts of suicide or when they suspect or have knowledge of another student's suicidal intentions
Crisis intervention procedures for addressing suicide threats or attempts
Statements regarding suicidal intent shall be taken seriously. Whenever a staff member suspects or has knowledge of a student's suicidal intentions based on the student's verbalizations or act of self-harm, the staff member shall promptly notify the principal or school counselor, who shall implement district intervention protocols as appropriate.
- Although any personal information that a student disclosed to a school counselor shall generally not be revealed, released, reference, or discussed with third parties, the counselor may report to the principal or student's parents/guardians when there is a reasonable cause to believe that disclosure is necessary to avert a clear and present danger to the health, safety, or welfare of the student or others within the school community. In addition, the counselor may disclose information of a personal nature to psychotherapists, other health care providers, or the school nurse for the sole purpose of referring the student for treatment. (Education Code 49602)
School employees shall act only within the authorization and scope of their credential or license. An employee is not authorized to diagnose or treat mental illness unless specifically licensed and employed to do so. (Education Code 2015)
Whenever schools establish a peer counseling system to provide support for students, peer counselors shall receive training that includes identification of the warning signs of suicidal behavior and referral of a suicidal student to appropriate adults.
When a suicide attempt or threat is reported, the principal or designee shall ensure student safety by taking the following actions:
- Immediately securing medical treatment and/or mental health services as necessary
- Notifying law enforcement and/or other emergency assistance if a suicidal act is being actively threatened
- Keeping the student under continuous adult supervision until the parent/guardian and/or appropriate support agent or agency can be contacted and has the opportunity to intervene
- Removing other students from the immediate area as soon as possible
- The principal or designee shall document the incident in writing, including the steps that the school took in response to the suicide attempt or threat.
- The Superintendent or designee shall follow up with the parent/guardian and student in a timely manner to provide referrals to appropriate services as needed. If the parent/guardian does not access treatment for the student, the Superintendent or designee may meet with the parent/guardian to identify barriers to treatment and assist the family in providing follow-up care for the student. If follow up care is still not provided, the Superintendent or designee shall consider whether it is necessary, pursuant to laws for mandated reporters of child neglect, to refer the matter to the local child protective services agency.
For any student returning to school after a mental health crisis, the principal or designee and/or school counselor may meet with the parents/guardians and, if appropriate, with the student to discuss re-entry and appropriate next steps to ensure the student's readiness for return to school and determine the need for ongoing support.

POSTVENTION
Such postvention measures and strategies include but are not limited to:

Counseling and other postvention strategies for helping students, staff, and others cope in the aftermath of a student's suicide
The Superintendent or designee shall communicate with the student's parents/guardians to offer condolences, assistance, and resources. In accordance with the laws governing confidentiality of student record information, the Superintendent or designee shall consult with the parents/guardians regarding facts that may be divulged to other students, parents/guardians, and staff.
The Superintendent or designee shall implement procedures to address students' and staff's grief and minimize the risk of imitative suicide or suicide contagion. The Superintendent or designee shall provide students, parents/guardians, and staff with information, counseling, and/or referrals to community agencies as needed. School staff may receive assistance from school counselors or other mental health professionals in determining how best to discuss the suicide or attempted suicide with students.
Any response to media inquiries shall be handled by the district-designated spokesperson who shall not divulge confidential information. The district's response shall not sensationalize suicide and shall focus on the district's postvention plan and available resources.
After any suicide or attempted suicide by a student, the Superintendent or designee shall provide an opportunity for all staff who responded to the incident to debrief, evaluate the effectiveness of the strategies used, and make recommendations for future actions.

As appropriate, these measures and strategies shall specifically address the needs of students who are at high risk of suicide, including, but not limited to, students who are bereaved by suicide; students with disabilities, mental illness, or substance use disorders; students who are experiencing homelessness or who are in out-of-home settings such as foster care; and students who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning youth. (Education Code 215)

The Board shall review, and update as necessary, this policy at least every five years. (Education Code 215)