BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2246
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
2246 (O'Donnell)
As Amended March 16, 2016
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Education |7-0 |O'Donnell, Olsen, | |
| | |Kim, McCarty, | |
| | |Santiago, Thurmond, | |
| | |Weber | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |16-0 |Gonzalez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bloom, Bonilla, | |
| | |Bonta, Calderon, | |
| | |Chang, Daly, Eggman, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Roger Hernández, | |
| | |Holden, Quirk, | |
| | |Santiago, Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
AB 2246
Page 2
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SUMMARY: Requires local educational agencies (LEAs) to adopt
policies for the prevention of student suicides, and requires
the California Department of Education (CDE) to develop and
maintain a model suicide prevention policy. Specifically, this
bill:
1)Requires the governing boards of school districts, county
offices of education, the state special schools, and charter
schools which serve students in grades 7 to 12 to adopt,
before the beginning of the 2017-18 school year, a policy on
student suicide prevention for students in those grades.
2)Requires that these policies address, at a minimum, procedures
relating to suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention.
3)Requires the policies to be developed in consultation with
school and community stakeholders, school-employed mental
health professionals, and suicide prevention experts.
4)Requires that the policies specifically address the needs of
high-risk groups, including:
a) Youth bereaved by suicide
b) Youth with disabilities, mental illness, or substance
use disorders
c) Youth experiencing homelessness or in out-of-home
settings, including foster care
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d) Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning
youth
1)Requires that the policy address any training to be provided
to teachers of students in grades 7 to 12 on suicide awareness
and prevention.
2)Requires that materials approved by an LEA for training
include how to identify appropriate mental health services,
both at the schoolsite and also within the larger community,
and when and how to refer youth and their families to those
services.
3)States that materials approved for training may also include
programs that can be completed through self-review of suitable
suicide prevention materials.
4)Requires the policy to be written to ensure that school
employees act only within the authorization or scope of their
credential or license. States that nothing in act shall be
construed as authorizing or encouraging school employees to
diagnose or treat mental illness unless they are specifically
licensed and employed to do so.
5)Requires the CDE, to assist LEAs in developing policies for
student suicide prevention, to develop and maintain a model
policy to serve as a guide for LEAs.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
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1)Proposition 98/General Fund state reimbursable costs, likely
in the hundreds of thousands, for each school district, county
office of education (COE), charter school, and State Special
School, serving students in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to
adopt a policy on suicide prevention. There are approximately
1,600 LEAs that would be required to develop a policy. Actual
costs will depend on how local education agencies choose to
implement the requirements of the bill.
2)One-time General Fund administrative costs to the CDE of
approximately $46,000 to develop a model policy on suicide
prevention. The department will collaborate with stakeholders
to create and disseminate the policy and provide technical
assistance to LEAs for adoption.
COMMENTS:
Need for the bill. The author states: "According to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide is the
second leading cause of death among young people aged 10-24.
The CDC also reports that 17% of high school students have
seriously considered attempting suicide - and 8% had attempted
suicide - in the prior 12 months.
"School personnel who interact with students on a daily basis
are in a prime position to recognize warning signs of suicide
and make appropriate referrals for help. A national study
conducted by the Jason Foundation found that the number one
person a student would contact to help a friend who might be
suicidal was a teacher. When a young person comes to a teacher
for help, it is vital that she has the knowledge, skills, and
resources to respond appropriately.
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"AB 2246 addresses youth suicide prevention by requiring school
districts to adopt suicide prevention policies. These policies
would be developed in consultation with school and community
stakeholders and experts in the field of suicide prevention,
and address the needs of high-risk groups of students. AB 2246
also requires the California Department of Education to develop
and maintain a model policy as a guide for school districts."
Youth suicide in California. According to the Lucile Packard
Foundation for Children's Health, in 2011-13, nearly 20% of
California public school students in grades 9, 11, and
nontraditional classes reported seriously considering attempting
suicide in the past year. The Foundation reports that in 2013,
481 California youth ages 5-24 were known to have committed
suicide, and that the state's youth suicide rate was 7.7 per
100,000 youth ages 15-24.
High risk groups. This bill requires that the suicide policies
required by the bill address the needs of specific groups of
students who are at higher risk of suicide. Research cited in
materials provided by the sponsor indicate the following about
risk factors for the specific groups named in this bill:
1)Youth bereaved by suicide: Young people appear to be
particularly affected by others' suicides. Research has found
that the relative risk of suicide following exposure to
another individual's suicide was 2 to 4 times higher among 15-
to 19-year-olds than among other age groups, and that between
1% and 5% of teen suicides occur in "suicide clusters." A
phenomenon known as "suicide contagion" refers to the
increased risk of suicide for individuals bereaved by the
suicide of others.
2)Youth with disabilities: Research shows that adolescents with
particular disabilities, such as chronic pain, loss of
mobility, disfigurement, multiple sclerosis, and spinal cord
injuries are at higher risk of suicide. People with multiple
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sclerosis, for example, are more than twice as likely as the
general population to attempt suicide and almost twice as
likely to actually complete suicide.
3)Youth with mental illness and substance abuse disorders:
Nearly 90% of all suicides are associated with a diagnosable
mental health or substance-abuse disorder. People
experiencing depression, manic-depressive disorder, anxiety
disorders, borderline personality disorder, schizophrenia, and
conduct disorders are at elevated risk for suicide.
4)Youth experiencing homelessness: Limited research suggests
that more than half of homeless and runaway youth have
attempted suicide.
5)Youth in foster care: Limited research suggests that youth in
foster care are more than twice as likely to commit suicide
and nearly four times as likely to attempt suicide as their
peers.
6)Youth in juvenile detention: Youth involved with the juvenile
justice system are four times more likely to commit suicide
than their peers.
7)Lesbian, gay and bisexual youth: LGBTQ youth are four times
more likely to attempt suicide than their straight peers.
Nearly half of young transgender people have seriously
considered suicide, and one-quarter report having made a
suicide attempt.
National suicide rate increasing. In an April, 2016 report, the
Centers on Disease Control and Prevention reported an increase
in the national suicide rate of 24% between 1999 and 2014, from
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10.5 to 13.0 per 100,000, with the pace of increase greater
after 2006. The largest increase for females occurred among
those aged 10-14.
Suicide policies legislation in other states. Six other states
(Pennsylvania, Georgia, Maine, Connecticut, Utah, and
Washington) have enacted legislation requiring school districts
to adopt suicide prevention policies. Many other states
provide model suicide prevention policies for their school
districts, as this bill requires.
Analysis Prepared by:
Tanya Lieberman / ED. / (916) 319-2087 FN:
0003190