CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS

CSA1 Bill Id:AB 1767

Author:(Ramos)

As Amended Ver:August 30, 2019

Majority vote

SUMMARY:

Requires local educational agencies (LEAs) serving students in grades K-6 to adopt and periodically update a policy on student suicide prevention that is appropriate for that age group.

The Senate Amendments:

1. Require that the county mental health plan be included as a stakeholder to be consulted in the development of the suicide prevention plan.
2. Require the plan be written to ensure proper coordination and consultation with the county mental health plan if a referral is made for mental health or related services of a pupil who is a Medi-Cal beneficiary.
3. Clarify that any training on suicide awareness and prevention is to be provided to teachers of pupils in all grades served by the LEA preparing the plan.

COMMENTS:

Rates of suicide among young children. According to figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), from 1999 through 2015 more than 1,300 children ages 5 to 12 took their own lives in the United States. There was a 54% increase in suicides of 11 and 12-year-olds from 2013 to 2015. From 1999 to 2015, the CDC reports that there were deaths due to suicide among very young children, including two among five-year-olds, four six-year-olds, and eight seven-year-olds. Overall, the rate of suicide among children from 5 to 12 years of age is low compared to other age groups at 0.31 suicides per 100,000 children over the past 17 years, compared to 7.04 per 100,000 for youth between 13-18.

In 2015, 495 California children and youth ages 5-24 were known to have committed suicide. 23 of these children were between the ages of 5-14.

A recent study published in Pediatrics (Sheftall, 2016) noted that suicide in elementary school-aged children is not well studied despite a recent increase in the suicide rate among U.S. black children. The study analyzed national data and found that children who died by suicide were more commonly male, black, died by hanging/strangulation/suffocation, and died at home. The researchers suggested there is a need for developmentally-specific suicide prevention strategies during the elementary school-aged and early adolescent years.

According to the Author:

"AB 1767 is part of a package of bills to address the mental needs of students. Youth at a much younger age are taking their own lives. Between 1999 and 2015, more than 1,300 children between the ages of 5 and 12 committed suicide in the United States – a figure which equates to one child 12 years old or younger dying by suicide every five days. Thoughts of self-harm and suicide may be fueled by bullying in the classroom and over the internet. As a response, this bill requires the governing boards of LEAs to adopt a policy on pupil suicide prevention in kindergarten and grades 1-6 that is age appropriate and provided in ways that are sensitive to a student's needs."

Arguments in Support:

The County Behavioral Health Directors Association states, "Facilitating improved coordination around the delivery of school-based mental health services is a shared goal of county behavioral health agencies. Serious emotional disturbance interferes with children's functioning and it is of deep concern that almost every state in the nation, including California, has seen an increase in their suicide rates for both children and adults. County behavioral health has been at the forefront of developing strategic plans regarding prevention and early intervention services for California's youth and continues to establish partnerships to link students in school settings with access to mental health services. Coordination with county behavioral health can provide school administrators, teachers, school nurses and counselors with the strategies, training and connections to services for more serious emotional disturbance and facilitate early identification of those children in need of higher-level interventions. In addition, under California law, county behavioral health agencies are responsible for the delivery of mental health services to children under the Medi-Cal Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment (EPSDT) benefit. Over half of all California's children are covered by Medi-Cal."

Arguments in Opposition:

None on file

FISCAL COMMENTS:

According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, this bill could create a state reimbursable mandate resulting in one-time Proposition 98 General Fund costs in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for LEAs to adopt suicide prevention policies. A precise amount would depend on how the estimated 500 LEAs serving students in grades K-6 would implement the bill's requirements. However, assuming a minimum of 20 hours of staff time to develop a new policy for each LEA, statewide costs would be approximately $500,000.

VOTES:

ASM EDUCATION: 7-0-0

YES: O'Donnell, Kiley, Kalra, McCarty, Smith, Voepel, Weber

ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 18-0-0

YES: Gonzalez, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonta, Brough, Calderon, Carrillo, Chau, Diep, Eggman, Fong, Gabriel, Eduardo Garcia, Maienschein, Obernolte, Petrie-Norris, Quirk, Robert Rivas

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0-2

YES: Aguiar-Curry, Arambula, Bauer-Kahan, Berman, Bigelow, Bloom, Boerner Horvath, Bonta, Brough, Burke, Calderon, Carrillo, Cervantes, Chau, Chen, Chiu, Choi, Chu, Cooper, Cunningham, Dahle, Daly, Diep, Eggman, Flora, Fong, Frazier, Friedman, Gabriel, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Gipson, Gloria, Gonzalez, Gray, Grayson, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Kamlager-Dove, Kiley, Lackey, Levine, Limón, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Obernolte, Patterson, Petrie‑Norris, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Reyes, Luz Rivas, Robert Rivas, Rodriguez, Blanca Rubio, Salas, Santiago, Smith, Mark Stone, Ting, Voepel, Waldron, Weber, Wicks, Wood, Rendon

ABS, ABST OR NV: Cooley, Eduardo Garcia

SENATE FLOOR: 35-3-2

YES: Allen, Archuleta, Atkins, Bates, Beall, Borgeas, Bradford, Caballero, Chang, Dahle, Dodd, Durazo, Galgiani, Glazer, Lena Gonzalez, Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Hurtado, Jackson, Leyva, McGuire, Mitchell, Monning, Nielsen, Pan, Portantino, Roth, Rubio, Skinner, Stern, Umberg, Wieckowski, Wiener, Wilk

NO: Grove, Jones, Stone

ABS, ABST OR NV: Moorlach, Morrell

UPDATED:

VERSION: August 30, 2019

CONSULTANT: Debbie Look / ED. / (916) 319-2087 FN: 0001782

 THIRD READING  

Bill No: AB 1767

Author: Ramos (D), et al.

Amended: 8/30/19 in Senate

Vote: 21

SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/26/19

AYES: Leyva, Wilk, Chang, Durazo, Glazer, McGuire, Pan

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 6-1, 8/30/19

AYES: Portantino, Bates, Bradford, Durazo, Hill, Wieckowski

NOES: Jones

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/23/19 - See last page for vote

SUBJECT: Pupil suicide prevention policies

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST:

This bill requires the governing board or body of a local educational agency (LEA) that serves kindergarten and grades 1-6 to adopt a policy on student suicide prevention.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Requires the governing board or body of a LEA that serves grades 7-12 to adopt, at a regularly scheduled meeting, a policy on student suicide prevention. (Education Code § 215)
   
2. Requires the policy to be developed in consultation with school and community stakeholders, school-employed mental health professionals, and suicide prevention experts. (EC § 215)
   
3. Requires the policy to, at a minimum, address procedures relating to suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention. (EC § 215)
   
4. Requires LEAs and private schools serving grades 7-12 that issue student identification cards to have printed on either side of the cards the telephone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, and authorizes schools to have printed on cards the numbers for the Crisis Text Line and a local suicide prevention hotline. (EC § 215.5)
   
5. Requires a public or private institution of higher education that issues student identification cards to have printed on either side of the cards the telephone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, and authorized institution to have printed on cards the numbers for the Crisis Text Line, the campus police or security, and a local suicide prevention hotline number. (EC § 215.5)
   
6. Requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to identify one or more evidence-based online training programs to a LEA can use to train school staff and students as part of the LEA’s policy on student suicide prevention. (EC § 216)
   
7. Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to send a notice to each middle school, junior high school, and high school that encourages each school to provide suicide prevention training to each school counselor at least one time while employed as a counselor, provides information on the availability of the suicide prevention training curriculum developed by the CDE, and informs schools about the suicide prevention training provided by CDE and describes how a school might retain those services. (EC § 49604)

This bill:

1. Requires the governing board or body of a LEA that serves kindergarten and grades 1-6, before the beginning of the 2020-21 school year, to adopt, at a regularly scheduled meeting, a policy on student suicide prevention in kindergarten and grades 1-6.
   
2. Requires the policy to be developed in consultation with school and community stakeholders, the county mental health plan, school-employed mental health professionals, and suicide prevention experts.
   
3. Requires the policy to, at a minimum, address procedures relating to suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention.
   
4. Requires the policy to be age appropriate and be delivered and discussed in a manner that is sensitive to the needs of young students.
   
5. Requires the policy to be written to ensure proper coordination and consultation with the county mental health plan if a referral is made for mental health or related services on behalf of a student who is a Medi-Cal beneficiary.
   
6. Requires the policy to also address any training on suicide awareness and prevention to be provided to teachers of students in all of the grades served by the LEA.
   
7. Requires the governing board or body to review, at minimum every fifth year, its policy on student suicide prevention, and if necessary, update its policy.

Comments

Rates of suicide among young children. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

• 1. Suicide in the United States has increased in all age groups.
     
  2. Suicide for children ages 5-12 in the United States is a growing problem, as 1,309 youth in this age group committed suicide from 1999-2015.
     
  3. Suicide is the third leading cause of death for youth ages 10-24, with nearly 4,600 lives lost each year.
     
  4. In California in 2015, 495 youth ages 5-24 were known to have committed suicide.
     

Expands to K-6. Current law requires LEAs serving grades 7-12 to adopt a policy on student suicide prevention. This bill expands this requirement to LEAs serving kindergarten and grades 1-6, and mirrors existing provisions with the addition of a requirement for the K-6 policy to be age appropriate and be delivered and discussed in a manner that is sensitive to the needs of young students.

The CDE’s Web site encourages schools with students below grade 7 to “consider adopting a suicide prevention policy as a safety net for all of their students. This is particularly important since suicide is now the second leading cause of death for youth ages thirteen to eighteen and also is a leading cause of death among ten- to-twelve-year olds. Students in earlier grades also are known to consider, attempt, and die by suicide. Research demonstrates that ideation may start as early as pre-school (however, suicide deaths are very rare among children age nine years or younger).”

Resources that are available for schools. The CDE’s Web site includes resources for schools relative to youth suicide prevention, including a Comprehensive Suicide Prevention Toolkit for Schools (which also addresses students in kindergarten and grades 1-6). [http://www.heardalliance.org/help-toolkit/]

The CDE’s Web site also includes a model youth suicide prevention policy to assist LEAs in developing their own policies. [https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/cg/mh/suicideprevres.asp]

Training resources for schools. The CDE’s Web site includes information about Project Cal-Well, which is a federal grant to improve mental health awareness, provide professional development that supports mental wellness to LEA personnel, and connect students and families to needed services. Project Cal-Well is a consortium of the CDE and 3 LEAs. This bill requires the policy to address any training to be provided to teachers, but does not explicitly require LEAs to provide training to their teachers. [https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/cg/mh/projectcalwell.asp]

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes

According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, this bill could create a state reimbursable mandate resulting in one-time Proposition 98 General Fund costs in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for LEAs to adopt suicide prevention policies. A precise amount would depend on how the estimated 500 LEAs serving students in grades K-6 would implement the bill’s requirements. However, assuming a minimum of 20 hours of staff time to develop a new policy for each LEA, statewide costs would be approximately $500,000.

SUPPORT: (Verified 8/30/19)

County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California

OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/30/19)

None received

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/23/19

AYES: Aguiar-Curry, Arambula, Bauer-Kahan, Berman, Bigelow, Bloom, Boerner Horvath, Bonta, Brough, Burke, Calderon, Carrillo, Cervantes, Chau, Chen, Chiu, Choi, Chu, Cooper, Cunningham, Dahle, Daly, Diep, Eggman, Flora, Fong, Frazier, Friedman, Gabriel, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Gipson, Gloria, Gonzalez, Gray, Grayson, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Kamlager-Dove, Kiley, Lackey, Levine, Limón, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Patterson, Petrie-Norris, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Reyes, Luz Rivas, Robert Rivas, Rodriguez, Blanca Rubio, Salas, Santiago, Smith, Mark Stone, Ting, Voepel, Waldron, Weber, Wicks, Wood, Rendon

NO VOTE RECORDED: Cooley, Eduardo Garcia

Prepared by: Lynn Lorber / ED. /

9/3/19 9:03:42

**** END ****

SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Senator Anthony Portantino, Chair

2019 - 2020 Regular Session

AB 1767 (Ramos) - Pupil suicide prevention policies

Bill Summary:

This bill requires local educational agencies (LEAs) serving students in grades K-6 to adopt and periodically update a policy on student suicide prevention that is appropriate for that age group.

*********** ANALYSIS ADDENDUM – SUSPENSE FILE ***********

The following information is revised to reflect amendments

adopted by the committee on August 30, 2019

Fiscal Impact:

This bill could create a state reimbursable mandate resulting in one-time Proposition 98 General Fund costs in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for LEAs to adopt suicide prevention policies. A precise amount would depend on how the estimated 500 LEAs serving students in grades K-6 would implement the bill’s requirements. However, assuming a minimum of 20 hours of staff time to develop a new policy for each LEA, statewide costs would be approximately $500,000.

Author Amendments:

Require the suicide prevention policies to ensure proper coordination and consultation with the county mental health plan and to address any training on suicide awareness and prevention to be provided to teachers.

-- END --

SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Senator Anthony Portantino, Chair

2019 - 2020 Regular Session

AB 1767 (Ramos) - Pupil suicide prevention policies

Bill Summary:

This bill requires local educational agencies (LEAs) serving students in grades K-6 to adopt and periodically update a policy on student suicide prevention that is appropriate for that age group.

Fiscal Impact:

This bill could create a state reimbursable mandate resulting in one-time Proposition 98 General Fund costs in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for LEAs to adopt suicide prevention policies. A precise amount would depend on how the estimated 500 LEAs serving students in grades K-6 would implement the bill’s requirements. However, assuming a minimum of 20 hours of staff time to develop a new policy for each LEA, statewide costs would be approximately $500,000.

Background:

Existing law requires the governing board or body of a LEA that serves grades 7-12 to adopt, at a regularly scheduled meeting, a policy on student suicide prevention. The law requires the policy to be developed in consultation with school and community stakeholders, school-employed mental health professionals, and suicide prevention experts and to address procedures relating to suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention.

The CDE has posted on its website a listing of resources to assist school districts with the concerns about youth suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention, including a youth suicide prevention school-based guide. The website also encourages schools with students below grade 7 to consider adopting a suicide prevention policy as a safety net for all of their students.

Proposed Law:

This bill requires the governing board or body of a LEA that serves kindergarten and grades 1-6, before the beginning of the 2020-21 school year, to adopt, at a regularly scheduled meeting, a policy on student suicide prevention in kindergarten and grades 1-6. The policy shall be developed in consultation with school and community stakeholders, school-employed mental health professionals, and suicide prevention experts.

This bill requires the policy to, at a minimum, address procedures relating to suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention, and for the policy to be age appropriate and be delivered and discussed in a manner that is sensitive to the needs of young students.

This bill requires the policy to also address any training to be provided to teachers on suicide awareness and prevention, and also requires the governing board or body to review, at minimum every fifth year, its policy on student suicide prevention, and if necessary, update its policy.

Related Legislation:

AB 2246 (O’Donnell, Chapter 642, Statutes of 2016) requires LEAs serving students in grades 7 to 12 to adopt policies on the prevention of student suicides and also requires the CDE to develop and maintain a model suicide prevention policy.

Staff Comments:

This bill defines LEA as county offices of education, school districts, state special schools, and charter schools. Under this definition, there are approximately 1,100 LEAs affected by this bill. Though charter schools are mandated by this bill to develop a policy, the Commission on State Mandates has determined charter schools to be ineligible to claim reimbursements for state mandates. Therefore under this bill, the state could be liable to reimburse about 500 LEAs for costs related to the development of the suicide prevention policy.

If it took a minimum of 20 hours of staff time to develop the policy in consultation with school and community stakeholders, school-employed mental health professionals, and suicide prevention experts as specified by this bill, one-costs would be about $500,000. Though some LEAs may already have a suicide prevention policy in place, they may be required to amend their policy to bring it into conformity with the requirements of this bill. In these circumstances, costs to those LEAs would likely be less than LEAs without a policy in place. To the extent LEAs use existing available resources, such as those posted on the CDE’s website, less staff time would be needed, and less costs would be incurred in developing a policy. Actual costs would depend upon how LEAs go about developing the policy.

-- END --

SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Senator Connie Leyva, Chair

2019 - 2020 Regular

Bill No: Hearing Date: June 26, 2019

Subject: .

SUMMARY

This bill requires the governing board or body of a local educational agency (LEA) that serves kindergarten and grades 1-6 to adopt a policy on student suicide prevention.

BACKGROUND

Existing law:

1. Requires the governing board or body of a LEA that serves grades 7-12 to adopt, at a regularly scheduled meeting, a policy on student suicide prevention. (Education Code § 215)
   
2. Requires the policy to be developed in consultation with school and community stakeholders, school-employed mental health professionals, and suicide prevention experts. (EC § 215)
   
3. Requires the policy to, at a minimum, address procedures relating to suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention. (EC § 215)
   
4. Requires LEAs and private schools serving grades 7-12 that issue student identification cards to have printed on either side of the cards the telephone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, and authorizes schools to have printed on cards the numbers for the Crisis Text Line and a local suicide prevention hotline. (EC § 215.5)
   
5. Requires a public or private institution of higher education that issues student identification cards to have printed on either side of the cards the telephone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, and authorized institution to have printed on cards the numbers for the Crisis Text Line, the campus police or security, and a local suicide prevention hotline number. (EC § 215.5)
   
6. Requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to identify one or more evidence-based online training programs to a LEA can use to train school staff and students as part of the LEA’s policy on student suicide prevention. (EC § 216)
   
7. Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to send a notice to each middle school, junior high school, and high school that encourages each school to provide suicide prevention training to each school counselor at least one time while employed as a counselor, provides information on the availability of the suicide prevention training curriculum developed by the CDE, and informs schools about the suicide prevention training provided by CDE and describes how a school might retain those services. (EC § 49604)
   

ANALYSIS

This bill:

1. Requires the governing board or body of a LEA that serves kindergarten and grades 1-6, before the beginning of the 2020-21 school year, to adopt, at a regularly scheduled meeting, a policy on student suicide prevention in kindergarten and grades 1-6.
   
2. Requires the policy to be developed in consultation with school and community stakeholders, school-employed mental health professionals, and suicide prevention experts.
   
3. Requires the policy to, at a minimum, address procedures relating to suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention.
   
4. Requires the policy to be age appropriate and be delivered and discussed in a manner that is sensitive to the needs of young students.
   
5. Requires the policy to also address any training to be provided to teachers on suicide awareness and prevention.
   
6. Requires the governing board or body to review, at minimum every fifth year, its policy on student suicide prevention, and if necessary, update its policy.

STAFF COMMENTS

1. Need for the bill. According to the author, “While the legislature has made significant strides on bullying, harassment, and suicide prevention, these issues remain significant challenges in schools across our state. Even as the issue of adolescent suicide has received focus and resources in recent years, rates of youth self-harm and suicide have tragically increased. While other resources are expansive to most age ranges, suicide prevention policies are grade-exclusive, only targeted at grades 7-12. These grade-exclusive policies can leave behind students whose risk of suicide has tragically increased in recent years. AB 1767 seeks to build on the work of local educational agencies by expanding suicide prevention policies to begin to address youth suicide. Doing so will focus attention on addressing the risk of youth suicide early on, hopefully preventing future youth suicide.”
   
2. Rates of suicide among young children. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
   
   1. Suicide in the United States has increased in all age groups.
      
   2. Suicide for children ages 5-12 in the United States is a growing problem, as 1,309 youth in this age group committed suicide from 1999-2015.
      
   3. Suicide is the third leading cause of death for youth ages 10-24, with nearly 4,600 lives lost each year.
      
   4. In California in 2015, 495 youth ages 5-24 were known to have committed suicide.
      
3. Expands to K-6. Current law requires LEAs serving grades 7-12 to adopt a policy on student suicide prevention. This bill expands this requirement to LEAs serving kindergarten and grades 1-6, and mirrors existing provisions with the addition of a requirement for the K-6 policy to be age appropriate and be delivered and discussed in a manner that is sensitive to the needs of young students.
   
   The CDE’s website encourages schools with students below grade 7 to “consider adopting a suicide prevention policy as a safety net for all of their students. This is particularly important since suicide is now the second leading cause of death for youth ages thirteen to eighteen and also is a leading cause of death among ten- to-twelve-year olds. Students in earlier grades also are known to consider, attempt, and die by suicide. Research demonstrates that ideation may start as early as pre-school (however, suicide deaths are very rare among children age nine years or younger).”
   
4. Resources that are available for schools. The CDE’s website includes resources for schools relative to youth suicide prevention, including a Comprehensive Suicide Prevention Toolkit for Schools (which also addresses students in kindergarten and grades 1-6). http://www.heardalliance.org/help-toolkit/

The CDE’s website also includes a model youth suicide prevention policy to assist LEAs in developing their own policies. https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/cg/mh/suicideprevres.asp

1. Training resources for schools. The CDE’s website includes information about Project Cal-Well, which is a federal grant to improve mental health awareness, provide professional development that supports mental wellness to LEA personnel, and connect students and families to needed services. Project Cal-Well is a consortium of the CDE and 3 LEAs. This bill requires the policy to address any training to be provided to teachers, but does not explicitly require LEAs to provide training to their teachers. https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/cg/mh/projectcalwell.asp
   
2. Fiscal impact. According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, this bill would impose one-time Proposition 98 General Fund cost pressures, likely in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, for each LEA serving students in kindergarten through grade 6 to adopt a policy on suicide prevention. There are more than 500 LEAs that would be required to develop a policy. Actual costs will depend on how LEAs choose to implement the requirements of the bill. If the Commission on State Mandates determines the bill's requirements to be a reimbursable state mandate, the state would need to reimburse these costs to LEAs or provide funding through the K-12 Mandate Block Grant.
   

SUPPORT

None received

OPPOSITION

None received

-- END --

ASSEMBLY THIRD READING

ATR Bill Id:AB 1767

Author:(Ramos)

As Amended Ver:April 22, 2019

Majority vote

SUMMARY:

Requires the adoption of suicide prevention policies by local education agencies (LEAs) serving pupils in grades kindergarten (K) through grade six.

Major Provisions

1. Requires the governing board or body of an LEA that serves pupils in kindergarten and grades one to six, to adopt a policy on pupil suicide prevention, applicable to kindergarten through grade six, before the beginning of the 2020-21 school year.
2. Requires that the policy be developed in consultation with stakeholders, school-employed mental health professionals, and suicide prevention experts and must, at a minimum, address procedures relating to suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention.
3. Requires the policy to be age appropriate and to be delivered and discussed in a manner that is sensitive to the needs of young pupils.
4. Requires the policy to specifically address the needs of high-risk groups, including youth bereaved by suicide; youth with disabilities, mental illness, or substance abuse disorder; youth experiencing homelessness or in out-of-home settings, such as foster care; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning youth.
5. Requires the policy to address any training to be provided to teachers of pupils in kindergarten through 6^th grade on suicide awareness and prevention.
6. Requires that materials approved by the LEA for training include how to identify appropriate mental health services, both at the school-site and within the larger community, and when and how to refer youth and their families to those services.
7. Requires that the policy is written to ensure that a school employee acts only within the authorization and scope of their credential or license, and prohibits the policy from authorizing or encouraging a school employee to diagnose or treat mental illness unless the employee is specifically licensed and employed to do so.
8. Requires the LEA to review the pupil suicide policy adopted pursuant to these provisions, at a minimum every fifth year, and if necessary update the policy.
9. Defines LEA for the purposes of this section as a county office of education, school district, state special school, or charter school.

COMMENTS:

According to the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health, "Youth suicide and self-inflicted injury are serious social and public health concerns. Approximately 157,000 youth ages 10-24 are treated for self-inflicted injuries in emergency rooms every year. Self-inflicted injuries are not necessarily the result of suicide attempts. In 2014, there were 3,575 hospitalizations for non-fatal self-inflicted injuries among children and youth ages 5-20 in California. In 2015, 495 California children and youth ages 5-24 were known to have committed suicide: 23 of these were between the ages of 5-14."

According to the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, "It is never too early to start reducing risk factors for suicide and increasing the protective factors in children's lives. Comprehensive approaches that support mental health, develop life skills, and promote the development of positive relationships with caring adults may help protect children from suicide and support a healthy transition into adulthood." They note that, "schools are a key setting for suicide prevention. Teachers, mental health providers, and all other school personnel who interact with students can play an important role in keeping them safe."

According to the Author:

"AB 1767 is part of a package of bills to address the mental needs of students. Youth at a much younger age are taking their own lives. Between 1999 and 2015, more than 1,300 children between the ages of 5 and 12 committed suicide in the United States – a figure which equates to one child 12 years old or younger dying by suicide every five days. Thoughts of self-harm and suicide may be fueled by bullying in the classroom and over the Internet. As a response, this bill requires the governing boards of LEAs to adopt a policy on pupil suicide prevention in kindergarten and grades 1-6 that is age appropriate and provided in ways that are sensitive to a student's needs."

Arguments in Support:

None

Arguments in Opposition:

None

FISCAL COMMENTS:

According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee: One-time Proposition 98 General Fund cost pressures, likely in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, for each LEA serving students in kindergarten through grade six to adopt a policy on suicide prevention. There are more than 500 LEAs that would be required to develop a policy. Actual costs will depend on how LEAs choose to implement the requirements of the bill. If the Commission on State Mandates determines the bill's requirements to be a reimbursable state mandate, the state would need to reimburse these costs to LEAs or provide funding through the K-12 Mandate Block Grant.

VOTES:

ASM EDUCATION: 7-0-0

YES: O'Donnell, Kiley, Kalra, McCarty, Smith, Voepel, Weber

ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 18-0-0

YES: Gonzalez, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonta, Brough, Calderon, Carrillo, Chau, Diep, Eggman, Fong, Gabriel, Eduardo Garcia, Maienschein, Obernolte, Petrie-Norris, Quirk, Robert Rivas

UPDATED:

VERSION: April 22, 2019

CONSULTANT: Debbie Look / ED. / (916) 319-2087 FN: 0000707

Date of Hearing: May 8, 2019

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Lorena Gonzalez, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 1767

Author:(Ramos) – As Amended Ver:April 22, 2019

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: Yes

SUMMARY:

This bill requires the governing board of a local educational agency (LEA) serving students in kindergarten through grade six to, beginning in the 2020-21 school year, adopt and periodically update a policy on pupil suicide prevention appropriate for that age group.

FISCAL EFFECT:

One-time Proposition 98 General Fund cost pressures, likely in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, for each LEA serving students in kindergarten through grade six to adopt a policy on suicide prevention. There are more than 500 LEAs that would be required to develop a policy. Actual costs will depend on how LEAs choose to implement the requirements of the bill.

If the Commission on State Mandates determines the bill’s requirements to be a reimbursable state mandate, the state would need to reimburse these costs to LEAs or provide funding through the K-12 Mandate Block Grant.

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose. According to the author:

Youth at a much younger age are taking their own lives…Thoughts of self-harm and suicide may be fueled by bullying in the classroom and over the Internet. As a response, this bill requires the governing boards of LEAs to adopt a policy on pupil suicide prevention in kindergarten and grades 1-6 that is age appropriate and provided in ways that are sensitive to a student’s needs.

1. Background. According to figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, from 1999 through 2015 more than 1,300 children ages 5 to 12 took their own lives in the United States. There was a 54% increase in suicides of 11- and 12-year-olds from 2013 to 2015. From 1999 to 2015, the CDE reports there were deaths due to suicide among very young children, including two among five-year-olds, four six-year-olds and eight seven-year-olds. However, overall, the rate of suicide among children from 5 to 12 years of age is low compared to other age groups.

Existing law requires LEAS serving students in grade 7 through 12 to adopt a policy on pupil prevention for that age group. This bill adds a requirement that LEAs do the same for students in kindergarten through grade six.

1. Prior Legislation. AB 2639 (Berman) Chapter 437, Statutes of 2018, requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to identify and make available an online training program in suicide prevention that an LEA can use to train school staff and pupils, consistent with the LEA’s policy on suicide prevention.

AB 2246 (O’Donnell) Chapter 642, Statutes of 2016, requires LEAs serving students in grades seven through twelve to adopt policies for the prevention of student suicides and requires the CDE to develop and maintain a model suicide prevention policy.

Analysis Prepared by: Natasha Collins / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: April 24, 2019

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Patrick O'Donnell, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 1767 (

Author:Ramos) – As Amended Ver:April 22, 2019

SUBJECT: Pupil suicide prevention policies

SUMMARY: Requires the adoption of suicide prevention policies by local education agencies (LEAs) serving pupils in grades Kindergarten (K) through grade six. Specifically, this bill:

1. Requires the governing board or body of a LEA that serves pupils in kindergarten and grades one to six, to adopt a policy on pupil suicide prevention, applicable to kindergarten through grade six, before the beginning of the 2020-21 school year.
2. Requires that the suicide prevention policy be adopted at a regularly scheduled meeting of the governing board or body.
3. Requires that the policy be developed in consultation with school and community stakeholders, school-employed mental health professionals, and suicide prevention experts and must, at a minimum, address procedures relating to suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention.
4. Requires the policy to be age appropriate and to be delivered and discussed in a manner that is sensitive to the needs of young pupils.
5. Requires the policy to specifically address the needs of high-risk groups, including youth bereaved by suicide; youth with disabilities, mental illness, or substance abuse disorder; youth experiencing homelessness or in out-of-home settings, such as foster care; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning youth.
6. Requires the policy to address any training to be provided to teachers of pupils in kindergarten through 6^th grade on suicide awareness and prevention.
7. Requires that materials approved by the LEA for training include how to identify appropriate mental health services, both at the schoolsite and within the larger community, and when and how to refer youth and their families to those services.
8. Requires that the policy is written to ensure that a school employee acts only within the authorization and scope of their credential or license, and prohibits the policy from authorizing or encouraging a school employee to diagnose or treat mental illness unless the employee is specifically licensed and employed to do so.
9. Requires the LEA to review the pupil suicide policy adopted pursuant to these provisions, at a minimum every fifth year, and if necessary update the policy.
10. Defines LEA for the purposes of this section as a county office of education, school district, state special school, or charter school.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Requires the governing boards of school districts, county offices of education, the state special schools, and charter schools which serve students in grades 7 to 12 to adopt, before the beginning of the 2017–18 school year, a policy on student suicide prevention for students in those grades. (EC 215)
2. Requires that these policies address, at a minimum, procedures relating to suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention.
3. Requires the policies to be developed in consultation with school and community stakeholders, school-employed mental health professionals, and suicide prevention experts.
4. Requires that the policies specifically address the needs of high-risk groups, including youth bereaved by suicide, youth with disabilities, mental illness, or substance use disorders, youth experiencing homelessness or in out-of-home settings, students in foster care, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning youth.
5. Requires that the policy address any training to be provided to teachers of students in grades 7 to 12 on suicide awareness and prevention.
6. Requires that materials approved by an LEA for training include how to identify appropriate mental health services, both at the schoolsite and also within the larger community, and when and how to refer youth and their families to those services.
7. States that materials approved for training may also include programs that can be completed through self-review of suitable suicide prevention materials.
8. Requires the policy to be written to ensure that school employees act only within the authorization or scope of their credential or license.
9. Requires the CDE, to assist LEAs in developing policies for student suicide prevention, to develop and maintain a model policy to serve as a guide for LEAs.
10. Require an LEA serving pupils in grades 7 to 12 to review its policy on pupil suicide prevention at least every five years and to update the policy if necessary.

FISCAL EFFECT: The Office of Legislative Counsel has keyed this bill as a possible state-mandated local program.

COMMENTS

Need for the bill. According to the author, “AB 1767 is part of a package of bills to address the mental needs of students. Youth at a much younger age are taking their own lives. Between 1999 and 2015, more than 1,300 children between the ages of 5 and 12 committed suicide in the United States – a figure which equates to one child 12 years old or younger dying by suicide every five days. Thoughts of self-harm and suicide may be fueled by bullying in the classroom and over the Internet. As a response, this bill requires the governing boards of LEAs to adopt a policy on pupil suicide prevention in kindergarten and grades 1-6 that is age appropriate and provided in ways that are sensitive to a student’s needs.”

Youth suicide. According to the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health:

“Youth suicide and self-inflicted injury are serious social and public health concerns. Approximately 157,000 youth ages 10-24 are treated for self-inflicted injuries in emergency rooms every year. Self-inflicted injuries are not necessarily the result of suicide attempts; in fact, self-harm without the intent to die is more prevalent than self-harm with such intent.

Some groups are at a higher risk for suicide than others. Males are more likely than females to commit suicide, but females are more likely to report attempting suicide. Among racial/ethnic groups with data, American Indian/Alaska Native youth have the highest suicide rates. Research also shows that lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth are more likely to engage in suicidal behavior than their heterosexual peers. Several other factors put teens at risk for suicide, including a family history of suicide, past suicide attempts, mental illness, substance abuse, stressful life events, low levels of communication with parents, access to lethal means, exposure to suicidal behavior of others, and incarceration.

In 2014, there were 3,575 hospitalizations for non-fatal self-inflicted injuries among children and youth ages 5-20 in California.

Rates of suicide among young children. In 2015, 495 California children and youth ages 5-24 were known to have committed suicide: 23 of these were between the ages of 5-14.”

According to figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), from 1999 through 2015 more than 1,300 children ages 5 to 12 took their own lives in the United States. There was a 54 percent increase in suicides of 11 and 12-year-olds from 2013 to 2015. From 1999 to 2015, the CDE reports there were deaths due to suicide among very young children, including two among five-year-olds, four six-year-olds, and eight for seven-year-olds. Overall, the rate of suicide among children from 5 to 12 years of age is low compared to other age groups at 0.31 suicides per 100,000 children over the past 17 years, compared to 7.04 per 100,000 for youth between 13-18.

A study published in Pediatrics in 2016 (Sheftall et al) noted that suicide in elementary school-aged children is not well studied despite a recent increase in the suicide rate among U.S. black children. The study analyzed national data and found that children who died by suicide were more commonly male, black, died by hanging/strangulation/suffocation, and died at home. The researchers suggested there is a need for developmentally-specific suicide prevention strategies during the elementary school-aged and early adolescent years.

Recommendations that school districts adopt suicide prevention policies. Former SPI Tom Torlakson convened a Student Mental Health Policy Workgroup, with funding from the California Mental Health Services Authority (CalMHSA), with the goals of assessing the current mental health needs of California students and gathering evidence to support its policy recommendations to the SPI and to the California Legislature. The Workgroup has issued several recommendations. Among them, the Workgroup recommends that:

School district governing boards should direct district superintendents to plan and evaluate the districts’ policies and strategies for suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention procedures. The evaluation process should involve school health professionals, school counselors, school social workers, and other school staff, as well as parents/guardians/caregivers, students, local health agencies and professionals, and community organizations. The board policies and administrative regulations for youth suicide prevention should align with each school’s Comprehensive School Safety Plan.

The state’s “Strategic Plan for Suicide Prevention,” published by the Department of Mental Health in 2008, notes the important role schools play in suicide prevention. The plan states: “Because school is where many youth spend a large part of their days, school staff are in the position to detect the early stages of mental health problems and potential suicide risk…Mental health and suicide prevention programs that are school-based can be successful in encouraging students at risk to seek help, and to follow through on referrals to mental health services. The programs can also be successful in developing protocols to handle a suicide crisis that minimizes the chances of a contagion effect.”

Suicide policies legislation in other states. Six other states (Pennsylvania, Georgia, Maine, Connecticut, Utah, and Washington) have enacted legislation requiring school districts to adopt suicide prevention policies. Many other states provide model suicide prevention policies for their school districts, as this bill requires.

Importance of school suicide prevention policies. This bill does not mandate specific programs or practices to prevent student suicides, but leaves these decisions up to LEAs to determine in the development of their policies. Research points to several practices shown to reduce suicide risk, including creating a safe and supportive school climate with a focus on social-emotional learning; promoting school-based programs which foster connections to caring adults; and training school personnel to recognize warning signs and make appropriate referrals for suicide and self-injury.

According to the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, “It is never too early to start reducing risk factors for suicide and increasing the protective factors in children’s lives. Comprehensive approaches that support mental health, develop life skills, and promote the development of positive relationships with caring adults may help protect children from suicide and support a healthy transition into adulthood.” They note that “schools are a key setting for suicide prevention. Teachers, mental health providers, and all other school personnel who interact with students can play an important role in keeping them safe.” They cite the following reasons why it is important for schools to address suicide prevention:

• Maintaining a safe school environment is part of your school's overall mission.
• Students' mental health can affect how well they perform in school.
• Suicide can affect the entire school community.

The Suicide Prevention Resource Center reports that the best way to prevent suicide is to use a comprehensive approach that includes these key components:

• Promote emotional well-being and connectedness among all students.
• Identify students who may be at risk for suicide and assist them in getting help.
• Be prepared to respond when a suicide death occurs.

California school district policies on suicide prevention. A recent report from the Trevor Project found that nearly 90 percent of California school districts have suicide prevention policies in place, following the passage of legislation in 2016 requiring schools serving pupils in grades 7 to 12 to have such policies.

Prior and related legislation.

AB 2639 (Berman) Chapter 437, Statutes of 2018 requires the CDE to identify and make available an online training program in suicide prevention that an LEA can use to train school staff and pupils, consistent with the LEA’s policy on suicide prevention.

AB 2246 (O’Donnell) Chapter 642, Statutes of 2016 requires LEAs to adopt policies for the prevention of student suicides, and requires the CDE to develop and maintain a model suicide prevention policy.

AB 739 (Lowenthal) of the 2011-12 Session would have required the SBE and the Curriculum Development and Supplemental Materials Commission to include suicide prevention instruction and mental illness awareness instruction in the health education framework for pupils in grades 7 to 12 during the next revision of the framework. The bill would have authorized a school district, commencing with the 2012–13 school year, to provide suicide prevention instruction and mental illness awareness instruction to pupils in grades 7 to 12. This bill was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

None on file

Opposition

None on file

Analysis Prepared by: Debbie Look / ED. / (916) 319-2087