HELENA — In the state with the worst suicide rate in the nation, Montana now has a law aimed at helping to curb suicide among young people.
The bill, sponsored by Democratic Rep. Edie McCafferty of Butte, requires the Office of Public Instruction to develop a suicide awareness and prevention training curriculum for faculty and staff. Employees will be encouraged to complete two hours of training every five years.
“There is no community in Montana that has escaped the pain of youth suicide,” McClafferty said in a statement. “I strongly believe that as a school teacher, I want to be sure that my colleagues and I are doing everything we can to support students who are struggling, and ensure we’re able to take action in a timely and responsible manner.”
Officials in Butte took action last year after four Butte high school students died by suicide in a short time period.
The measure as amended is a watered-down version of the Jason Flatt Act, which requires educators in Tennessee and other states to complete two hours of training each year in order to be able to be licensed to teach.
Bill co-sponsor Rep. Carolyn Pease-Lopez of Billings said lawmakers get nervous about such strict requirements and this was probably the only way they could get the bill through the Legislature.
“I never want to pooh-pooh our small beginnings,” she said.
Clark Flatt, father of Jason Flatt and president of the Jason Foundation, said Thursday he finds it disheartening that the bill was changed from required to recommended training although he’s glad the state took a step forward.
“I would have not backed it with that language in there,” he said. “We’ll be having conversations with (the Office of Public Instruction) because this is not what we agreed to.”
Fifteen states have passed the Jason Flatt Act, and the foundation provides those states with free online suicide prevention and awareness training. Because of that, the laws require no state funds. The act is named after Jason Flatt of Tennessee, who killed himself in 1997 at age 16. The foundation works to spread awareness about teen suicide and to promote teacher training.
Karen Sullivan, health officer for Butte-Silver Bow, said McClafferty plans to work with the OPI and the state Board of Education to bring more strength to the law.
“This is the beginning point,” she said. “I feel very confident that what we eventually get in place will have teeth.”
Karl Rosston, suicide prevention coordinator for the state’s Department of Health and Human Services, said he would have liked the training to be mandatory as well and said he’d work toward a solution with the Jason Foundation and the OPI because he’d like their training videos to be available to teachers.
But, Rosston already does suicide prevention trainings and said he visits about 40 schools per year. He expects an influx of calls from schools with the new law and said that’s a good thing because there is a lot of work to do.
“We are doing things but people need to realize we’ve had high suicide rates in Montana for 100 years; it’s been in the culture,” he said. “We’re going to need a cultural shift, and schools are probably the first line of defense.”