Tier 2 Module 3: Suicide Prevention Legal Issues and Best Practices for Suicide Postvention

Creator: Scott Poland, Ed.D., Professor at the College of Psychology and Director of the Suicide and Violence Prevention Office for NSU Florida in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Description: This professional learning experience will increase the understanding of school-based mental health professionals* around their role in suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention practices in their schools, and it will offer an array of evidence-based tools that these professionals can use to recognize suicide risk and respond effectively.

*School psychologists, school counselors, social workers, crisis response team members, and behavior interventionists.

Goals:

1.     Become familiar with student behaviors related to suicide and the components of comprehensive suicide prevention, intervention and postvention in schools.

2.     Understand the importance of responding immediately to screen students when a student is suspected of being at-risk for suicide and the importance of parent notification, referral to community-based professionals and follow up at school.

3.     Identify the goals of suicide postvention and the best practices resources for suicide postvention in schools.

4.     Understand key legal issues in lawsuits filed against schools after a student suicide and the lessons for suicide prevention from the legal causes.

Estimated time to complete: 2-3 hours

Completion:

• Educators will have 31 days to complete the module. After submitting an assignment for the module, it might take anywhere from 1-2 weeks for it to be graded. As soon as all assignments are submitted and graded, you will receive an email letting you know you've completed the module. Also, if you don't complete the module in time, you will not receive your certificate of completion.
• The certificate participants receive after completing each module is not valid for licensure credit.
  • Licensure Renewal Credit Option: Educators will have to enroll in the Licensure Renewal Course and complete all 6 Tier 2 modules to receive a certificate for one Iowa licensure renewal credit. Educators who are not in the state of Iowa, or who don’t renew their licensure through the Iowa BoEE, should check with their governing body if this experience would be approved for a renewal credit.