The Jason Flatt Act.
Not familiar with it? Maybe your state isn't in blue as seen in the accompanying image ... which means they haven't endorsed it there yet ... which means it may not be mandatory for teachers to have to "complete two hours of youth suicide awareness and prevention training each year."
The Jason Foundation is the one leading the charge, created by a father and named after the 16 year old son he lost to suicide. Mind you, I know that teachers are called on to do more and more in the classroom in modern times, but here in Broward County, statistics show a higher rate of suicide attempts than elsewhere in Florida (more than 1 out of 10 -- and a quarter of those identify as LGBTQ), so *something* has to be done. Since the Act isn't state law in FL, the local solution has been to use some of the foundation's curriculum on top of a special one time training program that many teachers take. Additionally, a local school went so far as to create a resource for all county public school students: any of them can text "FL" to 741741 to be connected to a national suicide hotline.
Please join me in helping to spread the word about the mission of the Jason Foundation far and wide in whatever way you can. The student whose life you just might save will surely thank you later. Let's turn that map completely blue!
SOURCE FOR THE INFORMATION FOUND ABOVE:
http://lmgfl.com/suicide-on-the-rise/
HOW CAN HIGH SCHOOL STAFF BE OF HELP, A SCIENTIFIC STUDY:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4813810/
LEARN ABOUT THE JASON FLATT ACT FROM THE JASON FOUNDATION HERE:
http://jasonfoundation.com/about-us/jason-flatt-act/
