Florida School Toolkit for K-12 Educators to Prevent Suicide

1. R eview the suicide prevention information from the Florida Department of Education including how Florida schools can become Suicide Prevention Certified and share them with all building principals. 2 . Form a district task force on suicide prevention that includes representatives from the community and ensure that it meets at least twice a year and keeps up with current trends and the incidence of youth suicide. 3 . R eview previous school responses to suicidal students for lessons learned. 4. I dentify mental health resources and treatment facilities in your community and region and identify providers who are competent in suicide risk assessment and management with suicidal youth (Tool 28a and 28b). 5. D evelop district procedures and guidelines for intervention with suicidal students, parent notification, and referral and follow-up services at school for suicidal students. 6. I dentify local and state resources for suicide prevention and meet with their representatives in person or by conference call to improve collaboration. 7. D esignate a suicide prevention expert or experts for the district. This most likely will be a counselor, social worker, or school psychologist. 8 . O btain extensive suicide assessment/intervention training for key personnel such as SMHPs that includes role-play scenarios of suicide assessment and parent notification. 9. Ensure that school counselors, social workers, and school psychologists have the needed training in suicide assessment and intervention, and that their schedule and ratio to students meets national recommendations. 10. I nvestigate implementing depression screening (SOS) at middle and high schools. 11. I mplement programs to safeguard and support LGBTQ students. 12 . U tilize best practices and prevention programs and review the recommended programs for Florida. 13. P lan and conduct annual trainings for all staff on suicide prevention and bullying prevention and recognize there is an association between bullying and suicide. 14. I mplement programs to increase all students’ connections to their school that includes identifying go-to trusted adults. Review postvention procedures in this report (Tool 21) and download, After a suicide: Toolkit for Schools from AFSP and SPRC, and review “Challenging Time for Schools” by Scott Poland and Rich Lieberman (Tool 22). TOOL 2 Leadership Involvement: Recommended District Action Steps 45