SPRINGFIELD, Ill. 鈥� Recent studies show suicide is the second-leading cause of death for young people ages 10 to 24. An Illinois lawmaker hopes to provide more protection for .
Rep. Lindsey LaPointe (D-Chicago) wants to make minor changes to a 2015 law that required the Illinois State Board of Education to create a youth suicide awareness and prevention policy. It also required ISBE to develop and post educational materials and resources for suicide prevention. While significantly helped the state move in a positive direction for students, it didn鈥檛 address which youth fall into groups at a higher risk for suicide.
LaPointe wanted the state to help schools identify students most in need of help. The list includes LGBTQ youth, individuals suffering from mental health or substance abuse disorders, and homeless students, among others.
鈥淪chool districts around the state are already doing much of this work,鈥� LaPointe said. 鈥淭he populations at elevated risk are already in ISBE guidance, which is a testament to education stakeholders and ISBE. This puts it into statute to make our focus on these high-risk populations more durable.
The Trevor Project, an LGBTQ youth suicide prevention group, said LaPointe鈥檚 bill would codify best practices suggested by mental health organizations, suicide prevention groups, and school associations.
鈥淎 higher baseline of vulnerability means that when a stressor occurs, such as COVID-19, those who are already at a higher risk are more likely then to be in crisis,鈥� said Keygan Miller, Senior Advocacy Associate for The Trevor Project. 鈥淭herefore, it鈥檚 more important than ever for schools to be prepared to work with young people who are experiencing crisis or suicidality.鈥�
Making schools liable
Rep. Steven Reick (R-Woodstock) raised concerns about the bill. While he supports LaPointe鈥檚 intent, he felt it could lead to increased liability for school districts.
鈥淚t鈥檚 subsequently found that these markers were there, but weren鈥檛 necessarily identified,鈥� Reick said. 鈥淭hus, what we鈥檙e doing is putting our school districts in a position where an attorney will take this statute and say, 鈥榊ou had an affirmative responsibility to identify this behavior. You failed to do it.鈥� Therefore, you鈥檙e liable for a failure that you may not have recognized.鈥�
Reick added no one can legislate the kind of behavior people want to see limited.
However, LaPointe鈥檚 Democratic colleague Rep. Kathleen Willis (D-Addison) quickly defended the bill. She stressed that too many schools fail to follow through with students.
鈥淚 think we need to hold school districts鈥� feet to the fire,鈥� Willis said. 鈥淣o longer can they say, 鈥榃ell, I didn鈥檛 know,鈥� or 鈥業 wasn鈥檛 sure.鈥� We have youth calling out for help, and they鈥檙e not getting the help they need.鈥�
This proposal passed out of committee on a 19-3 vote. It now heads to the House floor for second reading.
鈥淚t is clear that we have to do more to prevent, assess, intervene and respond to suicide behavior especially in our schools,鈥� LaPointe said.
If you or someone you know needs help, call the Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). You can also text TALK to 741-741 to talk with a trained crisis counselor.
