Pupil health: suicide prevention policies and training.

Existing law requires the governing board or body of a county office of education, school district, state special school, or charter school that serves pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to adopt a policy on pupil suicide prevention that specifically addresses, among other things, procedures relating to suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention, and any training on suicide awareness and prevention to be provided to teachers of pupils in all of the grades served by the local educational agency. Existing law requires the State Department of Education to develop and maintain a model policy in accordance with these provisions to serve as a guide for local educational agencies in developing policies for pupil suicide prevention. This bill would require a local educational agency, on or before January 1, 2025, to review and update its policy on pupil suicide prevention, and revise its training materials, to incorporate best practices identified by the department in the department's model policy. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would encourage a local educational agency, commencing with the 2024–25 school year, to provide suicide awareness and prevention training to teachers of pupils in all of the grades served by the local educational agency. The bill would require the department, on or before June 1, 2024, to complete the development of, and issue to local educational agencies, resources and guidance on how to conduct suicide awareness and prevention training remotely. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.