North Kingstown committee reviews red-lined suicide-prevention policy, will return with revised draft

The North Kingstown School Committee reviewed a red-lined draft of the district's student suicide-prevention policy and agreed to bring a revised draft back for further review rather than approve it at the meeting.

Committee members and staff examined changes drawn from a model policy and inputs from the district's mental-health staff, focusing discussion on three areas: whether to include dated statistics in the policy, which definitions should stay, and how the policy should treat incidents that occur outside the school environment. Staff said the district is using the Signs of Suicide (SOS) training program recommended by the Rhode Island Department of Education for annual staff training.

Members raised concerns about inserting detailed procedures into the policy. Several speakers said the document, as returned in redline form, includes procedural steps and forms better placed in a separate procedure reference rather than the policy text. Committee members asked staff to clarify the distinction between policy language and procedural steps and to confirm the district's existing risk- and threat-assessment paperwork (the committee discussed the district's risk/threat assessment procedures and an accompanying form) and how the policy should reference that material rather than replicate it.

The committee also debated whether to keep definitions that appear in the model policy (for example, the distinction between 'crisis' and 'immediate danger'). Some members said definitions help lay readers understand terms such as 'high risk' and 'safety plan,' while others questioned whether those definitions belong in the policy or in an accompanying procedural document. Staff agreed to follow up and report why certain definitions had been removed in the returned draft and whether they should be restored or relocated.

On out-of-school incidents, the group sought clearer language. The draft states the policy 'also includes school responses to suicidal or high-risk behaviors that take place outside the school environment.' Committee members asked staff to clarify that section to specify that the policy applies when the district is made aware of such incidents and to distinguish between school-sponsored events (including when staff are present) and incidents that occur off campus and are later reported to the school.

The committee acknowledged input from the district's mental-health staff and other contributors to the draft and asked staff to return a cleaner draft that removes procedural detail, clearly references existing district procedures (risk assessment/threat assessment forms), and notes the recommended training resources from the Rhode Island Department of Education and the Rhode Island Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals (BHDDH). The committee did not vote to adopt the policy and will review a revised draft at a later meeting.

Ending: The committee said it would formally note that the policy has been reviewed for the annual health-report requirement and asked staff to bring a revised draft that separates procedural materials from policy text and that highlights any added or removed definitions and training references.