The Student Suicide Prevention Bill authored by state Sen. Anthony Portantino passed the Senate Education Committee with unanimous bipartisan support last week.
Senate Bill 972 would require public, charter and private schools to print a suicide prevention hotline number and/or text crisis lines on the back of identification cards for students enrolled in 7th-12th grade or at any higher education institution.
“As a father and a legislator, the safety of our youth has always been a priority for me,” said Portantino, who lives in La Cañada Flintridge and represents the 25th Senate District, in a statement following the committee’s vote on March 14. “This bill is a good step forward to help prevent these horrific tragedies.”
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that suicide is the second leading cause of death among people between the ages of 15 and 24, only behind accidents.
Current law requires that governing boards and bodies of school districts and other educational institutions adopt a policy on pupil suicide prevention. Superintendents of public instruction also are required to send a notice to each middle school, junior high school and high school encouraging suicide prevention training to counselors.
SB 972, which is co-authored by a six other state senators, would authorize the State Department of Health Care Services to contract with an outside agency to establish and implement a targeted public awareness and education campaign on suicide prevention and treatment.
It is supported by the American Academy of Pediatrics of California, the California School Boards Association, the School Nurses Organization, Hathaway-Sycamores and the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District.
— Mirjam Swanson
