Education Committee Hears Coleman Bill To Help Prevent Student Suicide

On Monday, the Senate Education Committee heard Senator Julia Coleman’s (R-Chanhassen) bill which seeks to re-up funding to make online suicide prevention training available for teachers across the state. The training will help teachers identify students in need and give them the confidence to properly intervene.

“We know our students are struggling with their mental health; it is more important than ever to provide the best possible suicide prevention training,” said Senator Coleman. “This bill is very important to me, as suicide prevention education efforts have been a big part of my life since losing a friend to suicide in 2014. This crucial legislation helps enable our teachers to intervene to save the lives of their students.”

The bill funds evidence-based online training on suicide prevention and engagement of students experiencing mental distress. In 2016, the Minnesota Department of Health and Minnesota Department of Education, in collaboration with National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Minnesota, piloted the Kognito suicide prevention training. The program offers a series of online professional development modules designed for schools to increase educators’ and other school staff’s skills, confidence and, willingness to intervene with students in distress.

In 2019 the legislature authorized funding to make this suicide prevention training available across the entire state. The full program was subsequently launched in the summer of 2020. Feedback for the training has been very positive with teachers and staff ranking it high, with 95% saying that it presented scenarios that are relevant to their experience.

The tragedy of student suicides is especially important now during the COVID-19 pandemic and distance learning. The CDC reports mental health crisis visits for children to emergency rooms have increased steadily since this fall, and there are increased reports of suicide and suicide attempts among students.

Please use these resources if you or someone you know is in a crisis and needs immediate assistance: