S 2705: Enacts the student suicide prevention act; requires the governing board or body of every local educational agency serving students in grades seven to twelve, to adopt policies, procedures and guidelines on student suicide prevention, intervention and postvention for students in such grades.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2705 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE January 22, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. HOYLMAN-SIGAL, BRISPORT, CLEARE, FERNANDEZ, GOUNARDES, JACKSON, MYRIE, PALUMBO, PARKER, SALAZAR, SCARCELLA-SPAN- TON, WEBB -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to enacting the student suicide prevention act The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "student suicide prevention act". 3 § 2. The education law is amended by adding a new article 2-A to read 4 as follows: 5 ARTICLE 2-A 6 STUDENT SUICIDE PREVENTION 7 Section 20. Legislative intent. 8 21. Definitions. 9 22. Policies, procedures, and guidelines. 10 23. Application. 11 24. Severability and construction. 12 § 20. Legislative intent. The legislature finds and declares the 13 following: 1. According to data from the federal Centers for Disease 14 Control and Prevention as reported in the year two thousand sixteen, 15 suicide is the second leading cause of death for youth and young adults 16 ten to twenty-four years of age, inclusive, in both the United States 17 and in New York state. 18 2. As children and teens spend a significant amount of their young 19 lives in school, the personnel who interact with them on a daily basis 20 are essential gatekeepers for recognizing warning signs of suicide and 21 making the appropriate referrals for help. 22 3. In a national survey conducted by the Jason Foundation, a teacher 23 was identified as the number one person to whom a student would turn to EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD06148-01-5 
 S. 2705 2 1 help a friend who might be suicidal. It is imperative that when a young 2 person comes to a teacher for help, such teacher has the knowledge, 3 tools, and resources to respond correctly. 4 4. In the year two thousand eighteen, the federal Centers for Disease 5 Control and Prevention found in its Youth Risk Behavior Survey that 6 lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth are almost four times more likely to 7 seriously consider attempting suicide, have made a suicide plan, or have 8 attempted suicide, than their heterosexual peers. 9 5. There are national hotlines available to help adults and youth, 10 including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning 11 (LGBTQ) youth, who are experiencing suicidal ideation or who are worried 12 about a family member or peer who may be at risk, including the National 13 Suicide Prevention Lifeline, the Crisis Text Line, the Trevor Project 14 Lifeline, and TrevorChat. 15 6. According to the Family Acceptance Project, research has found 16 that, for an LGBTQ youth, having at least one supportive adult can 17 reduce the youth's risk of suicide. 18 7. New York state schools face the serious issues of students at high 19 risk of suicide and death by suicide in the school communities. School 20 personnel must be supported by clear policies and procedures, which 21 serve as an easily-accessible roadmap, eliminate confusion over educator 22 roles and the referral process, and equip educators with the tools to 23 respond safely when a suicide does occur in the school community. 24 § 21. Definitions. For the purposes of this article, the following 25 terms shall have the following meanings: 1. "Crisis situation" means a 26 situation where a teacher or other local educational agency employee 27 believes a student or other individual is in imminent danger of a 28 suicide attempt. 29 2. "LGBTQ" means individuals who identify, with regards to gender, as 30 being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning. 31 3. "Local educational agency" means a school district, board of coop- 32 erative educational services, school, or the education department. 33 4. "Suicide intervention" means specific actions schools can take in 34 response to suicidal behavior by a student, including, but not limited 35 to: 36 a. student supervision; 37 b. notification of parents or guardians; 38 c. crisis situation response protocols; 39 d. when and how to request an immediate mental health assessment or 40 emergency services; and 41 e. school re-entry procedures following a student mental health 42 crisis. 43 5. "Suicide postvention" means planned support and interventions 44 schools can implement after a suicide attempt or suicide death of a 45 member of the school community that are designed to: 46 a. reduce the risk of the spread of suicidal thoughts or intentions; 47 b. provide support for affected students and school-based personnel; 48 c. address the social stigma associated with suicide; and 49 d. disseminate factual information about suicide and its prevention. 50 6. "Suicide prevention" means specific actions schools can take to 51 recognize and reduce suicidal behavior, including, but not limited to: 52 a. identifying risks and protective factors for suicide and suicide 53 warning signs; 54 b. establishing a process by which students are referred to a mental 55 and behavioral health provider for help; 
 S. 2705 3 1 c. making available school-based and community-based mental health 2 supports; 3 d. providing the location of available online and community suicide 4 prevention resources, including local crisis centers and hotlines; 5 e. adopting policies and protocols regarding suicide prevention, 6 intervention, and postvention, school safety, and response to crisis 7 situations; 8 f. training for school personnel who interact directly with students 9 in recognizing suicide risks and warning signs and how to refer students 10 for further assessment and evaluation; and 11 g. instruction to students in problem-solving and coping skills to 12 promote students' mental, emotional, and social health and well-being, 13 and instruction in recognizing and appropriately responding to signs of 14 suicidal intent in others. 15 § 22. Policies, procedures, and guidelines. 1. The governing board or 16 body of every local educational agency that serves students in grades 17 seven to twelve, inclusive, shall, before the first day of August, two 18 thousand twenty-five, adopt policies, procedures, and guidelines on 19 student suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention for students 20 in such grades. Such policies, procedures, and guidelines shall be 21 developed in consultation with school and community stakeholders, 22 school-employed mental health professionals, and suicide prevention 23 experts, and shall include, but not be limited to: 24 a. methods to increase awareness of the relationship between suicide 25 and suicide risk factors including, but not limited to: 26 i. mental health and substance use conditions; 27 ii. childhood abuse, neglect, or trauma; 28 iii. prolonged stress, including individual experiences such as bully- 29 ing, harassment, family or relationship stress, or other stressful life 30 events, as well as collective stressors such as systemic bias and 31 discrimination; 32 iv. exposure to another person's suicide, or sensationalized or graph- 33 ic accounts of suicide; and 34 v. previous suicide attempts or history of suicide within a student's 35 family; 36 b. identification of training opportunities on recognizing suicide 37 risks, and referral procedures available to school employees; 38 c. availability of expertise from school employees who have been 39 trained in recognizing suicide risks, and referral procedures; 40 d. how school employees should respond to suspicion, concerns, or 41 warning signs of suicide in students; 42 e. how school employees should respond to a crisis situation where a 43 student is in imminent danger to themself; 44 f. policies and protocols for communication with parents, including 45 those that specify what to do if parental notification is not in the 46 best interest of the student; 47 g. counseling services available within the school for students and 48 their families that are related to suicide prevention; 49 h. availability of information concerning crisis situation inter- 50 vention, suicide prevention, and mental health services in the community 51 for students and their families and school employees; 52 i. identification and development of partnerships with community 53 organizations and agencies for referral of students to health, mental 54 health, substance use, and social support services, including develop- 55 ment of at least one memorandum of understanding between the local 
 S. 2705 4 1 education agency and such an organization or agency in the community or 2 region; 3 j. development of a culturally competent plan to assist survivors of 4 attempted suicide and to assist students and school employees in coping 5 with an attempted suicide or a suicide death within the school communi- 6 ty; and 7 k. development of any other related program or activity for students 8 or school employees. 9 2. The policies, procedures, and guidelines adopted pursuant to subdi- 10 vision one of this section shall specifically address the needs of high- 11 risk groups, including, but not limited to, the following: 12 a. youth who have lost a friend or family member to suicide; 13 b. youth with disabilities or with chronic health conditions, includ- 14 ing mental health and substance use conditions; 15 c. youth experiencing homelessness or in out-of-home settings, such as 16 foster care; and 17 d. LGBTQ youth. 18 3. The policies, procedures, and guidelines adopted pursuant to subdi- 19 vision one of this section shall be written to ensure that a school 20 employee acts only within the authorization and scope of such employee's 21 credential or license. Nothing in this section shall be construed as 22 authorizing or encouraging a school employee to diagnose or treat mental 23 health conditions unless such employee is specifically licensed and 24 employed to do so. 25 4. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, no 26 cause of action may be brought for any loss or damage caused by any act 27 or omission resulting from the implementation of the provisions of this 28 article, or resulting from any training, or lack of training, required 29 by this article. Nothing in this article shall be construed to impose 30 any specific duty of care. 31 5. To assist local educational agencies in developing policies for 32 student suicide prevention, the department shall develop and maintain 33 model policies, procedures, and guidelines in accordance with this 34 section to serve as a guide for local educational agencies. Such model 35 policies, procedures, and guidelines shall be posted within thirty days 36 of their completion on the department's internet website, along with 37 relevant resources and information to support schools in developing and 38 implementing the policies, procedures, and guidelines required under 39 subdivision one of this section. 40 6. The governing board or body of a local educational agency that 41 serves students in grades seven to twelve, inclusive, shall review, at 42 minimum every fifth year following the effective date of this article, 43 its policies, procedures, and guidelines on student suicide prevention 44 and, if necessary, update such policies, procedures, and guidelines. 45 § 23. Application. The provisions of this article shall apply to all 46 private and public educational institutions in New York state. 47 § 24. Severability and construction. The provisions of this article 48 shall be severable, and if any court of competent jurisdiction declares 49 any phrase, clause, sentence or provision of this article to be invalid, 50 or its applicability to any government agency, person or circumstance is 51 declared invalid, the remainder of this article and its relevant appli- 52 cability shall not be affected. The provisions of this article shall be 53 liberally construed to give effect to the purposes thereof. 54 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.