Name: Education committee advances bill that would mandate suicide prevention training for K-12 students
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Education committee advances bill that would mandate suicide prevention training for K-12 students

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You have permission to edit this article.TownNews.com Content ExchangeWyoming school districts may soon be required to train students in suicide prevention under a bill advanced Tuesday by the state Legislature’s Joint Education Committee.Cody High School students who testified Tuesday said educating students on how to talk to their peers about suicide could make all the difference.“My half sister … committed suicide by firearm a year and a half ago,” Senior Soffy Anderson tearfully told the committee. “I would have appreciated having training and being able to see the signs when they were happening, because maybe the outcome could have been different.”Paula Media, a junior at Cody High, shared similar feelings. She has had friends who have considered suicide, but she’s never been sure what to say to them. “It’s a very nerve-wracking process that if you say the wrong stuff you might never see them again,” Medina said. “I wasn’t ever provided with the tools to fully talk to anyone. ... I don’t want anyone to have to blindly go into it and hope you say the right thing.”Wyoming already requires teachers and administrators to undergo eight hours of suicide prevention training every four years. The requirement is a component of the Jason Flatt Act, named after a Tennessee teenager who died by suicide in 1997 and first enacted by the Tennessee Legislature in 2007.Twenty states including Wyoming have adopted their own versions of the law, which experts who testified Tuesday said has helped save students’ lives. But they said more could be done.Wyoming has consistently had suicide rates far above the national average. The state has been in the top five for suicide rates since 1996, and has recorded the second-highest rate in the nation.And teen suicide in the state has seen a monumental rise. The rate of teenagers who have died by suicide in Wyoming has gone up 40% in the last three years, according Cody High School Psychologist Daniel Cossaboon told the committee Tuesday that teaching students how to intervene if a friend is suicidal is critical to saving more lives.Cossaboon said research shows most teenagers are going to tell a friend, not an adult, if they’re considering suicide. But existing state law does not require students be educated on what to do in that scenario.The Joint Education Committee moved the bill forward in a 10-4 vote, in which Sen. Lynn Hutchings, R-Cheyenne, and Reps. Landon Brown, R-Cheyenne; Jamie Flitner, R-Greybull; and Garry Piiparinen, R-Evanston, voted against. The committee heard testimony on and discussed the bill for roughly two hours before passing it, with the discussion mostly revolving around whether the education should be optional for districts or required.It ultimately moved forward with language that would mandate the education after the committee adopted an amendment to that effect from Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie.“I think from the testimony it’s very clear we need to make sure this is part of all education in the state of Wyoming,” Rothfuss said. “The problem is everywhere in the state of Wyoming; we don’t know where it’s going to happen next” and the state’s response should reflect that.Follow health and education reporter Morgan Hughes on Twitter @m0rgan_hughesThis article originally ran on .TownNews.com Content ExchangeSuccess! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.Error! There was an error processing your request.Signup today!Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.

You have permission to edit this article.TownNews.com Content ExchangeWyoming school districts may soon be required to train students in suicide prevention under a bill advanced Tuesday by the state Legislature’s Joint Education Committee.Cody High School students who testified Tuesday said educating students on how to talk to their peers about suicide could make all the difference.“My half sister … committed suicide by firearm a year and a half ago,” Senior Soffy Anderson tearfully told the committee. “I would have appreciated having training and being able to see the signs when they were...

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Education committee advances bill that would mandate suicide prevention training for K-12 students

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