Suicide Training and Awareness Nationally Delivered for Universal Prevention Act of 2020
Floor Speech
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Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7293) to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide best practices on student suicide awareness and prevention training and condition State educational agencies, local educational agencies, and tribal educational agencies receiving funds under section 520A of such Act to establish and implement a school-based student suicide awareness and prevention training policy, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 7293
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Suicide Training and Awareness Nationally Delivered for Universal Prevention Act of 2020'' or the ``STANDUP Act of 2020''. SEC. 2. STUDENT SUICIDE AWARENESS AND PREVENTION TRAINING.
(a) In General.--Title V of the Public Health Service Act is amended by inserting after section 520A of such Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb-32) the following: ``SEC. 520B. STUDENT SUICIDE AWARENESS AND PREVENTION TRAINING POLICIES.
``(a) In General.--As a condition on receipt of funds under section 520A, each State educational agency, local educational agency, and Tribal educational agency that receives such funds, directly or through a State or Indian Tribe, for activities to be performed within secondary schools, including the Project AWARE State Education Agency Grant Program, shall--
``(1) establish and implement a school-based student suicide awareness and prevention training policy;
``(2) consult with stakeholders (including principals, teachers, parents, local Tribal officials, and other school leaders) in the development of the policy under subsection (a)(1); and
``(3) collect and report information in accordance with subsection (c).
``(b) School-Based Student Suicide Awareness and Prevention Training Policy.--A school-based student suicide awareness and prevention training policy implemented pursuant to subsection (a)--
``(1) shall be evidence-based;
``(2) shall be culturally and linguistically appropriate;
``(3) shall provide evidence-based training to students in grades 6 through 12, in coordination with school-based mental health service providers as defined in section 4102(6) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, if applicable, regarding--
``(A) suicide education and awareness, including warning signs of self-harm or suicidal ideation;
``(B) methods that students can use to seek help for themselves and others; and
``(C) student resources for suicide awareness and prevention;
``(4) shall provide for retraining of such students every school year;
``(5) may last for such period as the State educational agency, local educational agency, or Tribal educational agency involved determines to be appropriate;
``(6) may be implemented through any delivery method, including in-person trainings, digital trainings, or train- the-trainer models; and
``(7) may include discussion of comorbidities or risk factors for suicidal ideation or self-harm, including substance misuse, sexual or physical abuse, mental illness, or other evidence-based comorbidities and risk factors.
``(c) Collection of Information and Reporting.--Each State educational agency, local educational agency, and Tribal educational agency that receives funds under section 520A shall, with respect to each school served by the agency, collect and report to the Secretary the following information:
``(1) The number of student trainings conducted.
``(2) The number of students trained, disaggregated by age and grade level.
``(3) The number of help-seeking reports made by students after implementation of such policy.
``(d) Evidence-Based Program Listing.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall coordinate with the Secretary of Education to make publicly available the policies established by State educational agencies, local educational agencies, and Tribal educational agencies pursuant to this section and the training that is available to students and teams pursuant to such policies, including identification of whether such training is available to trainees at no cost.
``(e) Implementation Timeline.--A State educational agency, local educational agency, or Tribal educational agency shall establish and begin implementation of the policies required by subsection (a)(1) not later than the beginning of the third fiscal year following the date of enactment of this section for which the agency receives funds under section 520A.
``(f) Definitions.--In this section and section 520B-1:
``(1) The term `evidence-based' has the meaning given to such term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
``(2) The term `local educational agency' has the meaning given to such term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
``(3) The term `State educational agency' has the meaning given to such term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
``(4) The term `Tribal educational agency' has the meaning given to the term `tribal educational agency' in section 6132 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. ``SEC. 520B-1. BEST PRACTICES FOR STUDENT SUICIDE AWARENESS AND PREVENTION TRAINING.
``The Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretary of Education and the Bureau of Indian Education, shall--
``(1) publish best practices for school-based student suicide awareness and prevention training, pursuant to section 520B, that are based on--
``(A) evidence-based practices; and
``(B) input from relevant Federal agencies, national organizations, Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations, and related stakeholders;
``(2) publish guidance, based on the best practices under paragraph (1), to provide State educational agencies, local educational agencies, and Tribal educational agencies with information on student suicide awareness and prevention best practices;
``(3) disseminate such best practices to State educational agencies, local educational agencies, and Tribal educational agencies; and
``(4) provide technical assistance to State educational agencies, local educational agencies, and Tribal educational agencies.''. SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The amendments made by this Act shall only apply with respect to applications for assistance under section 520A of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb-32) that are submitted after the date of enactment of this Act.
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Mr. PALLONE. 7293.
I rise today in support of H.R. 7293, the Suicide Training and Awareness Nationally Delivered for Universal Prevention Act of 2020, or the STANDUP Act.
As we have heard, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S. However, it is the second leading cause of death for young Americans age 10 to 14, which has tripled since 2007.
Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic is already exacerbating these trends. Sandy Hook Promise's 24/7 crisis center, which allows people to identify and help at-risk students, has seen a more than 10 percent increase in suicide tips thus far.
During our hearing on this bill, Arriana Gross, a high school student from Covington, Georgia, testified that: ``In our school, a year doesn't go by without a student dying by suicide. I've even known of elementary kids who died by suicide. I am concerned that youth suicide has become so common that my school community and our Nation is stuck in a pattern of mourning and accepting these deaths as something that is normal, instead of seeing them as preventable and tragic.''
Again, Mr. Speaker, those are the words of Arriana Gross, a high school student.
Like Arriana, I am concerned.
Despite data that suicide is on the rise, we can act now to help equip students and the communities around them to identify risk factors so they can play an active role in preventing suicide or self-harm.
Now, this bill, H.R. 7293, would encourage schools to expand evidence-based suicide prevention training to students and make public best practices for such training as a condition of receiving funds under the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Project AWARE grant program.
The STANDUP Act would also support technical assistance resources for schools and encourage the collection and reporting of data to track implementation of these policies and practices.
Research, Mr. Speaker, shows that training students on suicide prevention makes an impact on student suicide rates and improves the students' willingness to seek help or to help a peer.
Much of this training is already taking place across thousands of schools nationwide, but the STANDUP Act will help ensure that this good work is expanded to more schools across the country.
So for these reasons, Mr. Speaker, I stand up in support of the STANDUP Act. This is good, bipartisan legislation. I thank the lead sponsors, Representatives Scott Peters, Gus Bilirakis, Ted Deutch, Brian Fitzpatrick, and their staffs for their work on this critical issue.
Mr. Speaker, I also thank Mr. Walden and the committee staff for working with us on this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I also urge passage of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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