• SUICIDE AWARENESS AND PREVENTION POLICY

    Jason Flatt Act

    J-52

     

    Jason Flatt Act – The Jason Flatt Act was passed in order to equip Alabama school districts and their personnel to recognize and act on signs of suicide risk in order to provide prevention, intervention, and postvention with students at risk, their families and the communities who may be affected.  This act, which amends 16-28B-8 of the Code of Alabama 1975, includes prevention of harassment and violence.

     

    Implementation – In compliance with the requirements of the Jason Flatt Act, Mountain Brook Schools will:

     

    a.    Encourage individual, family, and group counseling services related to suicide prevention.

    b.    Make referral, crisis intervention, and other related information available for students, parents, and school personnel.

    c.    Foster training for school personnel who are responsible for counseling and supervising students.

    d.    Increase student awareness of the relationship between drug and alcohol use and suicide.

    e.    Educate students in recognizing signs of suicidal tendencies and other facts and warning signs of suicide.

    f.     Inform students of available community suicide prevention services.

    g.    Promote cooperative efforts between school personnel and community suicide prevention program personnel.

    h.    Foster school-based or community-based, or both, alternative programs outside of the classroom.

    i.      Develop a strategy to assist survivors of attempted suicide, students, and school personnel in coping with the issues relating to attempted suicide, suicide, the death of a student, and healing.

    j.      Engage in any other program or activity which the local board determines is appropriate and prudent in the efforts of the school system to prevent student suicide.

    k.    Provide training for school employees and volunteers who have significant contact with students on the local board policies to prevent harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence.

    l.      Develop a process for discussing with students local board policies relating to the prevention of student suicide and to the prevention of harassment, intimidation, violence, and threats of violence.

    m.   Provide annual training for all certificated school employees in suicide awareness and prevention.  This training may be provided within the framework of existing in-service training programs or as a part of required professional development offered by our school system.

     

    Description of Behavior Expected of Students – Students are expected to treat other students with courtesy, respect, and dignity and comply with the Code of Student Conduct.Students are expected and required to (1) comply with the requirements of the law, policy, regulation and rules prohibiting harassment, violence, or intimidation (6.24) and (2) to comply with the system’s prevention strategies related to suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention support.

     Responsibility of Reporting – Any person involved in a case of action or omission resulting from the implementation of this suicide prevention policy or resulting from any training, or lack thereof, required by this section, shall be subject to state immunity law.

     

    Promulgation of Policy and Related Procedures, Rules and Forms – This policy and any procedures and rules developed and approved to implement the policy will be published, disseminated, and made available to students, parents and legal guardians, and employees by such means and methods as are customarily used for such purposes, including publication on the school system's website.


     

    [Reference: Ala. Code 16-28B-8, et seq. (1975)]

    [Reference: Jason Flatt Act (Act #2016-310)]

     

     

    Proposed:  January 9, 2017

    Approved:  February 13, 2017