Bereaved parents, community crisis groups and student peer‑support organizations told the Joint Committee on Education that Massachusetts should strengthen suicide‑prevention requirements for school personnel and improve postvention planning when tragedies occur.

Speakers shared personal stories of loss and argued for annual, evidence‑based training for licensed school staff and earlier onboarding for new hires. Representative Sena and student advocates described bills that would increase training frequency and require districts to develop community partnerships to expand referral options.

Why it matters: Presenters cited state and national data showing suicide as a leading cause of death among youth and described cases where school staff felt ill‑prepared to respond. Samaritan’s Inc., which operates crisis support services, highlighted its Hey Sam text line demand and said schools are a key access point for youth mental‑health support.

Recommendations: Witnesses urged (1) at least two hours of annual, evidence‑based training for school personnel (some sponsors recommend annual rather than every three years), (2) rapid postvention planning so schools have protocols after a death, and (3) stronger links between districts and community mental‑health providers.

Next steps: The committee heard multiple related bills (H699, H672, H640) and advocates asked lawmakers to report the strongest training mandate and to fund partnerships so districts can access community behavioral‑health services.