NORTH SANPETE SCHOOL DISTRICT
Creating Conditions for Learning So All Students Can Succeed
NORTH SANPETE SCHOOL DISTRICT
Creating Conditions for Learning So All Students Can Succeed
VI-50 Suicide Prevention Policy
North Sanpete School District
Statement of . . . . . . . .
Board Policy with Guidelines
Policy Number: VI-50
Effective Date: 02/16/2021
Subject: Suicide Prevention
- Each licensed employee of the district shall complete a minimum of two hours of professional development training on youth suicide prevention every three years. Utah Code 536-9-704 (2018)
- North Sanpete School District, in collaboration with Utah State Board of Education (USBE), shall implement a suicide prevention program for students in grades 7-12. As appropriate and supported by USBE, the elementary school counselor shall include suicide prevention strategies for grades 3-6. The district will refer to model programs provided by USBE and the state suicide prevention coordinator. Efforts will be made to coordinate resources with local health agencies when possible. Utah Admin. Rules R277-620-3.B
- School prevention programs will address bullying/cyberbullying, suicide, substance abuse, healthy social and emotional strategies, family support, and sustained relationships.
- The district will provide an annual training/seminar for parents. Utah Code 53G-9-702(2)
- If an administrator, school psychologist, school counselor, or responsible school employee is made aware of a threatened suicide, this individual must comply with prevention procedures.
- Administrators, school psychologist, school counselors, and/or other qualified educators are to review all reports of suicidal ideation.
- Consistent with the Suicide Notification Form, parent/guardians must be contacted with a personal phone call, with an invitation to come in immediately to meet with school personnel. If no parent is available, the team will need to decide, based on the extent of the ideation, whether to call the emergency contact, police, Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS), 911 or wait until such time as a parent/guardian is available.
- Consultation should take place at the school when possible with appropriate team members which may include: administration, counselors, and/or psychologist.
- Notification must be made indicating date of report, time of discussion and information given to parents. Documentation should be kept in a locked file and NOT in a student’s cumulative folder.
- North Sanpete School District’s practice is to contact parents and guardians regarding all safety reasons unless the student is designated as emancipated. In this case, the district would contact the student’s designated emergency contact.