Suicide Prevention Plan
Senate Bill 52, also known as "Adi's Act", was passed in Oregon in 2019. This legislation requires school districts to develop and publicly post the school district's plan for suicide prevention, intervention and postvention response activities, beginning no later than the start of the 2020-2021 school year. This plan was updated in 2025. It will be reviewed annually for minor updates and more formally updated every three years.
PURPOSE
Suicide is the second leading cause of death for Oregon youth ages 5-24. Any firearm death is the leading cause of death for Oregon Youth ages 10-24. Youth face a barrage of pressures and stressors that, if uncared for, can amplify the mental health risk factors most commonly associated with suicide. When youth feel connected to their schools, friends, and caring adults they are better equipped to cope with life's challenges. (CDC Wonder, 2024).
The purpose of this plan is to protect the health and well-being of all students by having procedures in place to prevent, intervene in, and respond appropriately to suicide. Beaverton School District's current Strategic Plan identifies the importance of physical and mental health outcomes academically and beyond within the "safe and thriving" strategic direction. BSD also recognizes the importance of students feel a sense of "belonging" in their school communities in order to achieve success. This sense of belonging is also a strong protective factor for suicide.
The Beaverton School District:
- Recognizes that physical and social emotional and mental health are integral components of student outcomes and that schools have an ethical responsibility to take a proactive approach in preventing suicide,
- Acknowledges the school’s role in providing an environment that is sensitive to individual and societal factors that impact suicidality and will work to foster positive youth development and resilience,
- Acknowledges that comprehensive suicide prevention planning includes prevention (elements that lower the likelihood of thoughts of suicide developing), intervention (the response we have when someone presents as having suicidal thoughts or behaviors) and postvention (how we respond to prevent future thoughts and behaviors for those impacted by someone's suicidal thoughts and behaviors) components, and
- Utilizes data and best practices whenever possible to inform their suicide prevention practices and protocols.
WHAT SCHOOLS NEED TO KNOW
- School staff are uniquely positioned as a first line of contact with students who may be having thoughts of suicide or who exhibit suicide behavior. However, school staff are not expected to provide the in-depth assessment or mental health treatment for a suicidal student. They are responsible for taking reasonable and prudent actions to help students by providing suicide first aid.
- All school staff need to know how to recognize suicide thoughts and behavior and that protocols exist to refer students to suicide frist aid trained staff and/or for a suicide assessment in the community.
- Students and parents/guardians can also help prevent suicide by learning how to recognize suicidal thoughts and behavior and referring the person to someone who is trained in suicide first aid.
- Asking someone if they are feeling suicidal, will not put the idea in their head or cause them to suicide.
- Research shows talking responsibly about suicide and having comprehensive supports in place lessens stigma and thoughts and behaviors while it also increases resilience for everyone.
- Advanced planning is critical to providing an effective crisis response that will help to reduce suicide risk for those impacted. Internal and external resources must be in place to address student grief responses and foster a sense of belonging in the learning environment for everyone.