Policies
Middletown Public Schools No. 7060
Suicide Prevention
SUICIDE PREVENTION
I. INTRODUCTION
A requirement of the Nathan Bruno/Jason Flatt Act1 is for districts to develop and adopt a policy on student suicide prevention to address procedures related to prevention, intervention, and postintervention.
The purpose of this policy is to protect the health and well-being of all students by having procedures in place to prevent, assess the risk of, intervene, and respond to suicide.
The Middletown Public School District establishes this policy to help protect the health and well being of all students through prevention, risk assessment, intervention, and response to suicide.
II. POLICY
This policy recognizes that:
• Physical and mental health are integral components of student outcomes, both educationally and throughout the lifespan.
• Suicide is a leading cause of death among young people locally, nationally, and globally. • The District shall provide an environment that is sensitive to individual and societal factors that place youth at greater risk for suicide and helps to foster positive youth development and resilience.
The Superintendent is directed to develop protocols consistent with this policy which are consistent with state law, the Rhode Island Department of Education’s model policy/guidance and address appropriate trainings, parental notification procedures, clarification of engagement with student support personnel, and language defining an in-school issue compared to an out
of-school issue, and address procedures relating to suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention2. The District shall align this policy with other policies, programs, and practices that support the overall social, emotional, and behavioral health of students.
1 R.I. Gen. Laws 1956, § 16-21.7-1 et seq. 2 Postvention also means counseling to students that have made a suicide attempt or have reported ideation; this counseling shall consist of regular check-ins. For the purposes of this chapter, “regular” means a frequency as determined by a licensed mental health professional.
1st Reading – January 26, 2023
2nd Reading and Approval – February 16, 2023
Review - June 18, 2026
3 Year Review Due - June 2029