Dr. Carolyn Stone Presents: School Counselors Role in Student Suicide as Informed by the Courts

Without question, school counselors want to support students who present as possibly suicidal. When school counselors are placed on notice by any means that a student might even remotely be in danger of suicide, they have an immediate responsibility to alert parents and guardians.  School counselors have been given guidance through eleven court cases involving school counselors and student suicide. The difficulty is not in the school counselors’ commitment to supporting students exhibiting suicidal ideation; it is in the use of protocols often requiring that school counselors do the impossible. Determining suicide risk is problematic on many levels, not the least of which is the exercise of judgment of lethality based on a student’s self-report.  The new ASCA Information-Gathering Tool: Suicide Concern will be presented along with a discussion of best practices as given to us by the courts.   

Learning Objectives After attending this workshop, you will be able to:

1. Identify school counselors’ appropriate role in the suicide information-gathering process;
2. Effectively advocate for a shift from suicide risk assessments to information-gathering tools in your school & district; and
3. Discuss court cases and their guidance in best practices around student suicide.

Florida School Counseling Standards addressed: 1 – 5, FDOE, 6A-5.079

Registration Required: Monday NSCW Event

Cost: FREE to current FSCA members

Non-Members: $20.00

The event link will be sent to your registration email on Monday, February 5th.  Please check your spam folder if it is not received by 9 am. 

 

Home for Florida School Counselors. Since 1964, FSCA has been a chartered state division of the American School Counselor Association (ASCA).