Legal Update Memo No. 27-2018 – Governor Brown Signs Bill Requiring Student Suicide Prevention Policies to be Reviewed at Least Every Five Years (AB 2639) (K-12)
The Governor signed Assembly Bill (“AB”) 2639 on September 17, 2018, which effective on January 1, 2019, amends Education Code § 215.[1]
As mentioned in Legal Updates 43-2016 and 16-2017, AB 2246 required the governing board of any Local Educational Agency (“LEA”) that serves pupils in grades 7 through 12[2] to adopt a pupil suicide prevention policy that specifically addresses the needs of high-risk groups.[3]
Effective January 1, 2019, AB 2639, requires the governing board of a LEA that serves pupils in grades 7 to 12 to review, at minimum every fifth year, its policy on pupil suicide prevention and, if necessary, update its policy.
Legal Update Written by Carl D. Corbin, General Counsel.
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[1]Available at: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB2639.
[2]This includes school districts, county offices of education, state special schools, and charter schools.
[3]Elementary school districts that do not serve students in grades 7 through 12 are not required to adopt suicide prevention policies. In a webinar on suicide prevention hosted by the California Department of Education (“CDE”) on November 29, 2016, it was shared that students as young as those enrolled in transitional kindergarten can contemplate suicide, and recommended that elementary schools also consider adopting pupil suicide prevention policies.
