Enacts the college student suicide prevention act to provide for policies, guidelines and training opportunities to effectively and appropriately prevent student suicide, intervene in crisis situations, and support college communities in postvention.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9923--A
IN ASSEMBLY
April 26, 2024
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GUNTHER -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Higher Education -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to enacting the college
student suicide prevention act
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "college student suicide prevention act".
3 § 2. The education law is amended by adding a new section 6438-d to
4 read as follows:
5 § 6438-d. College student suicide prevention act. 1. Legislative
6 intent. The legislature finds and declares the following:
7 (a) According to data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and
8 Prevention as reported in the year two thousand twenty-one, suicide is
9 the second leading cause of death for youth and young adults ten to
10 twenty-four years of age, inclusive, across both the state of New York
11 and the United States. Suicide rates nearly doubled among New York state
12 youth in this age range from the year two thousand seven to the year two
13 thousand eighteen. One in four surveyed young adults eighteen to twen-
14 ty-four years of age, the largest age demographic on college campuses,
15 reported having seriously considered suicide in the prior thirty days
16 nationally.
17 (b) In the year two thousand twenty-three, separate reports from the
18 Healthy Minds Network's national Healthy Minds Survey, the Gallup and
19 Lumina Foundation's national State of Higher Education Survey, and the
20 American College Health Association's National College Health Assessment
21 declared that United States college students were experiencing historic
22 levels of depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, frequent emotional
23 stress, overall moderate to severe psychological distress, and loneli-
24 ness.
25 (c) According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, New
26 York state is not among the twenty-one states that uniformly require
27 institutions of higher education to adopt specific, evidence-based
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14926-02-4
A. 9923--A 2
1 suicide prevention policies by law. Such policies include the regular
2 dissemination of information on available mental health resources and
3 services to students, as well as the internal development of guidelines
4 and protocols to inform staff on how to respond to a student in suicidal
5 crisis, in order to most effectively support those at risk and empower
6 students to proactively seek help.
7 (d) According to data from Healthy CUNY, as reported in the year two
8 thousand twenty-one, more than half of all city university of New York
9 students report experiencing depression or anxiety. While nearly every
10 city university of New York institution houses its own counseling
11 center, data reported by the city university of New York board of trus-
12 tees in the board's four-year financial plan released in the year two
13 thousand nineteen stated that the average student-to-counselor ratio
14 across the city university of New York system is at least two thousand
15 four hundred-to-one. Until adequate staffing levels of mental health
16 professionals can be sustainably funded, uniformly requiring higher
17 education institutions to develop partnerships with community providers
18 is imperative to meet the needs of students at such institutions with
19 large student-to-counselor ratios or whose student populations primarily
20 live off-campus.
21 (e) Establishing gatekeeper suicide prevention or mental health aid
22 training requirements and opportunities for college residential staff
23 and other student-facing positions has been recommended by the state
24 university of New York Student Mental Health and Wellness Task Force and
25 adopted by dozens of state university of New York institutions. However,
26 these requirements have not been modeled by many colleges and universi-
27 ties outside of the state university of New York system, weakening
28 preparedness frameworks for students attending other public and private
29 institutions of higher education alike. As students most often seek
30 emotional support from peers and those in close proximity, institutions
31 must compel residential assistants and staff to utilize the free Ques-
32 tion, Persuade, and Refer suicide prevention training already fully
33 funded by state university of New York for all New York state college
34 students in order to bolster their preparedness for such emergency
35 scenarios.
36 (f) New York state colleges and universities are facing a deepening
37 mental health crisis among students, marked by increases in the preva-
38 lence of thoughts of suicide and attempts. All levels of collegiate
39 staff must be equipped by their respective institutions' policies,
40 guidelines and training opportunities to effectively and appropriately
41 prevent student suicide, intervene in crisis situations, and support
42 their college communities in postvention.
43 2. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the following terms
44 shall have the following meanings:
45 (a) "Crisis situation" means a situation where a teacher or other
46 employee of an educational institution believes a student or other indi-
47 vidual is in imminent danger of a suicide attempt.
48 (b) "LGBTQ" means individuals who identify, with regards to gender
49 identification and sexual orientation, as being lesbian, gay, bisexual,
50 transgender, queer or questioning.
51 (c) "Higher education institution" means a college university, or
52 professional or technical school, whether public or private, that has
53 been incorporated by a special act of the legislature or chartered by
54 the regents of the university of the state of New York to confer academ-
55 ic degrees in this state.
A. 9923--A 3
1 (d) "QPR" means suicide prevention training based on the Question,
2 Persuade, and Refer emergency response model.
3 (e) "Suicide intervention" means specific actions higher education
4 institutions can take in response to suicidal behavior by a student,
5 including, but not limited to:
6 (i) student supervision;
7 (ii) notification of designated emergency contacts;
8 (iii) crisis situation response protocols;
9 (iv) when and how to request an immediate mental health assessment or
10 emergency services; and
11 (v) higher education institution re-entry procedures following a
12 student mental health crisis.
13 (f) "Suicide postvention" means planned support and interventions
14 higher education institutions can implement after a suicide attempt or
15 suicide death of a member of the higher education institution community
16 that are designed to:
17 (i) reduce the risk of suicide contagion, or the spread of suicidal
18 thoughts or intentions;
19 (ii) provide support for affected students and higher education insti-
20 tution-based personnel;
21 (iii) address the social stigma associated with suicide; and
22 (iv) disseminate factual information about suicide and its prevention.
23 (g) "Suicide prevention" means specific actions higher education
24 institutions can take to recognize and reduce suicidal behavior, includ-
25 ing, but not limited to:
26 (i) identifying risk and protective factors for suicide and suicide
27 warning signs;
28 (ii) establishing a process by which students are referred to a mental
29 and behavioral health provider for help;
30 (iii) making available higher education institution-based and communi-
31 ty-based mental health supports;
32 (iv) providing the location of available online and community suicide
33 prevention resources, including the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline and
34 other local crisis centers and hotlines;
35 (v) adopting policies and protocols regarding suicide prevention,
36 intervention, and postvention, campus safety, and response to crisis
37 situations;
38 (vi) training for higher education institution personnel who interact
39 directly with students in recognizing suicide risk factors and warning
40 signs and how to refer students for further assessment and evaluation;
41 and
42 (vii) instruction to students in problem-solving and coping skills to
43 promote students' mental, emotional, and social health and well-being,
44 and instruction in recognizing and appropriately responding to signs of
45 suicidal intent in others.
46 3. Policies, procedures, and guidelines for higher education insti-
47 tutions. (a) The governing board or body of every higher education
48 institution shall, before the first day of August, two thousand twenty-
49 four, adopt policies, procedures, and guidelines on student suicide
50 prevention, intervention, and postvention for said students. Such poli-
51 cies, procedures, and guidelines shall be developed in consultation with
52 collegiate and community stakeholders, campus-employed mental health
53 professionals, and suicide prevention experts, and shall include, but
54 not be limited to:
A. 9923--A 4
1 (i) methods to increase awareness of the relationship between suicide
2 and suicide warning signs, risk factors and protective factors, includ-
3 ing but not limited to:
4 (1) mental health and substance use conditions;
5 (2) childhood abuse, neglect, or trauma;
6 (3) prolonged stress, including individual experiences such as bully-
7 ing, harassment, family or relationship stress, or other stressful life
8 events as well as collective stressors such as systemic bias and
9 discrimination;
10 (4) exposure to another person's suicide, or sensationalized or graph-
11 ic accounts of suicide; and
12 (5) previous suicide attempts or history of suicide within a student's
13 family;
14 (ii) adoption of a requirement for residential assistants and staff of
15 student housing facilities, students' academic and professional advi-
16 sors, and campus security personnel to participate in either a QPR
17 gatekeeper suicide prevention training course, or a similar program
18 prior to the commencement of their duties or before the beginning of the
19 next full academic year. Such training shall include, but not be limit-
20 ed to:
21 (1) methods for early identification of suicide risk factors and
22 inclusion of expertise from higher education institution employees who
23 have previously been trained in recognizing suicide risks;
24 (2) information on how higher education institution employees should
25 respond to suspicion, concerns, or warning signs of suicide in students,
26 and the appropriate referral and reporting procedures available to high-
27 er education institution employees;
28 (3) information on how higher education institution employees should
29 respond within their means to a crisis situation where a student is in
30 imminent danger to such student;
31 (4) policies and protocols to respond to a student or staff suicide or
32 suicide attempt and provide support to survivors and affected peers and
33 families;
34 (iii) counseling services available within the higher education insti-
35 tution for students and their families that are related to suicide
36 prevention;
37 (iv) availability of information about depression and other mental
38 health conditions associated with an increased risk of suicide, includ-
39 ing development of an annual live orientation session for newly matricu-
40 lated students aimed at raising awareness of said conditions;
41 (v) implementation of specialized mental health awareness curricula
42 into existing courses and seminars if opportunities for integration
43 exist;
44 (vi) availability of information concerning crisis situation inter-
45 vention, suicide prevention, and mental health services in the community
46 for students and their families and higher education institution employ-
47 ees, and inclusion of said information on dedicated pages of the student
48 handbook and higher education institution website or primary mobile
49 application;
50 (vii) revision of emergency contact notification protocols to include
51 a student's expression of thoughts of suicide as among the circumstances
52 in which notification of said student's designated emergency contact may
53 take place by a campus-employed mental health professional, after noti-
54 fying said student of the protocol's activation and following case-by-
55 case consideration and documentation of any objections raised by the
56 student, any concerns that disclosure of such information may threaten
A. 9923--A 5
1 the student's safety or unreasonably compromise their right to privacy,
2 and the process by which the final determination that such disclosure is
3 in the student's best interest is made;
4 (viii) revision of emergency contact notification protocols to include
5 language specifically outlining the higher education institution's role
6 following notification, the institution's expectation of an emergency
7 contact following notification, and the contact employee at the institu-
8 tion who may answer questions regarding the protocol, with all said
9 information being routinely communicated to students and emergency
10 contacts and published on dedicated pages of the student handbook and
11 higher education institution website or primary mobile application;
12 (ix) periodic assessments of elements of the campus environment that
13 may be used in a suicide attempt, including but not limited to access to
14 building rooftops, balconies, windows, and bridges, or access to drugs,
15 alcohol, and toxic or controlled dangerous substances, and ways to
16 secure these locations and substances to minimize threats posed to
17 students' health and safety;
18 (x) assessments of new and proposed campus buildings and infrastruc-
19 ture, as well as revisions and updates to existing campus buildings and
20 infrastructure, during the design process, for the implementation of
21 suicide deterrent barriers and other measures to minimize access to
22 areas of significant height, reducing suicide risk;
23 (xi) revision of medical leave and withdrawal policies to no longer
24 compel a student to involuntarily withdraw from enrollment solely on the
25 grounds of having considered or attempted suicide, without first allow-
26 ing said student to take a temporary leave of absence to seek support
27 for their mental health and providing a guarantee of readmission or
28 reinstatement following completion of such a leave of absence;
29 (xii) identification and development of off-campus peer support
30 programs and partnerships with community providers, organizations, and
31 agencies for referral of commuter students and other students who may
32 not substantially benefit from on-campus services to mental health,
33 substance use, and social support services, including the development of
34 at least one memorandum of understanding between the higher education
35 institution and a supporting provider, organization or agency in the
36 community or region;
37 (xiii) development of a culturally competent plan to promote sensitiv-
38 ity in outreach to diverse and traditionally underserved populations, to
39 assist survivors of attempted suicide, and to assist students and higher
40 education institution employees in coping with an attempted suicide or
41 suicide death within the higher education institution community; and
42 (xiv) development of any other related program or activity for
43 students or higher education institution employees.
44 (b) The policies, procedures, and guidelines adopted pursuant to para-
45 graph (a) of this subdivision shall specifically outline sensitive and
46 competent responses to address the needs of high-risk groups, including
47 but not limited to the following:
48 (i) youth who have lost a friend or family member to suicide;
49 (ii) youth with disabilities or with chronic health conditions,
50 including mental health and substance use conditions;
51 (iii) youth experiencing homelessness or in out-of-home settings, such
52 as foster care;
53 (iv) youth belonging to racial and ethnic minority groups and interna-
54 tional students;
55 (v) LGBTQ youth;
56 (vi) first-year, transfer, or otherwise newly matriculated students;
A. 9923--A 6
1 (vii) youth participating in demanding or high-performance programs,
2 including student athletes and academic honors or accelerated students;
3 and
4 (viii) youth reporting significant financial or academic challenges as
5 barriers to their ability to fully participate in higher education
6 institution activities.
7 (c) The policies, procedures, and guidelines adopted pursuant to para-
8 graph (a) of this subdivision shall be written to ensure that a higher
9 education institution employee acts only within the authorization and
10 scope of such employee's credential or license. Nothing in this section
11 shall be construed as authorizing or encouraging a higher education
12 institution employee to diagnose or treat mental health conditions
13 unless such employee is specifically licensed and employed to do so.
14 (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, no
15 cause of action may be brought for any loss or damage caused by any act
16 or omission resulting from the implementation of the provisions of this
17 section, or resulting from any training, or lack of training, required
18 by this section. Nothing in this section shall be construed to impose
19 any specific duty of care.
20 (e) To assist higher education institutions in developing policies for
21 student suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention, the board of
22 regents of the university of the state of New York shall develop and
23 maintain model policies, procedures, and guidelines in accordance with
24 this section to serve as a guide for higher education institutions. Such
25 model policies, procedures, and guidelines shall be posted within thirty
26 days of their completion on the university's internet website, along
27 with relevant resources and information to support higher education
28 institutions in developing and implementing the policies, procedures,
29 and guidelines required under paragraph (a) of this subdivision.
30 (f) The trustees or other governing board or body of a higher educa-
31 tion institution shall review, at minimum every fifth year following the
32 effective date of this section, its policies, procedures, and guidelines
33 on student suicide prevention and, if necessary, update such policies,
34 procedures, and guidelines.
35 4. Severability and construction. The provisions of this section shall
36 be severable, and if any court of competent jurisdiction declares any
37 phrase, clause, sentence or provision of this section to be invalid, or
38 its applicability to any government agency, person or circumstance is
39 declared invalid, the remainder of this section and its relevant appli-
40 cability shall not be affected. The provisions of this section shall be
41 liberally construed to give effect to the purposes thereof.
42 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
