West Chester Area School District updates suicide awareness, prevention and response policy

WEST CHESTER, Pa. The West Chester Area School District Policy Review Committee on Sept. 15 approved revisions to Policy 819, the district's Suicide Awareness, Prevention and Response policy, and reviewed an updated administrative guideline that compiles emergency phone numbers, text resources and district resource links.

District staff described current prevention practices during the committee presentation: a suicide-prevention program for all ninth graders, "Safe to Stay" trainings for students in sixth through ninth grades, yearly suicide awareness and prevention training for staff, more intensive training for threat-assessment team members, a one-time annual parent training offered in English and Spanish, and a crisis manual the district updates each summer for postvention response. Staff emphasized that the administrative guideline is intended as a concise reference of phone numbers and texting resources and includes links to West Chester Area School District resources on the district website.

Committee members flagged formatting and spacing issues in the policy text (for example, run-together lines in the risk factors and warning signs section and missing commas in the authority section). The committee voted to approve the substantive revisions to Policy 819 with direction that staff correct the specific formatting issues described on the record before the item goes to the full board.

The committee also noted that the administrative guideline for Policy 819 had not been substantially revised since February 2015 and that the updated guideline removes out-of-date information and presents a short list of emergency resources for quick access. The guideline was presented for information and no formal vote on the guideline was taken at the committee meeting.

What the policy and guideline say now (as presented) - Prevention: Ninth-grade suicide-prevention curriculum for all ninth graders; Safe to Stay training for grades 6-9; annual staff training; initial training for new staff similar to student-level training; threat-assessment team receives more intensive assessment training. - Family outreach: A one-time annual parent training in English and Spanish. - Postvention: District uses a crisis manual updated every summer as the basis for postvention response. - Resources: Administrative guideline compiles phone and text hotlines and links to district resources for families.

No implementation deadlines were set in the committee record beyond staffdirection to correct formatting errors. The committee approved the policy revisions by voice vote.