The Athens City Board of Education approved a new suicide awareness policy Tuesday evening.

Last year, the Alabama State Legislature passed the Jason Flatt Act, which requires all K-12 public schools to establish policies that increase suicide awareness among school personnel by providing staff training programs, student curriculum and a list of suicide prevention referral services. In addition, the provision includes strategies that address harassment, intimidation and threats of violence.

The school board worded the new policy according to recommendations passed down to them by the Alabama State Department of Education’s Prevention and Support Services Section and the Suicide Prevention Advisory Committee.

Chris Hamilton, executive director of Athens City Schools, said that “the new policy raises everyone’s awareness about suicide,” but she is quick to point out that the district has been implementing many of the directives outlined in the new policy for years.

“Right now, in all of our schools, we have certified, trained counselors who are already trained in awareness and the prevention of suicide,” she said. “I think this act will allow us to take that further and do even more.”

The final provision in the new policy calls for the school system to provide annual training for all certified school employees in suicide awareness and prevention. Hamilton said that these training sessions started at the beginning of the school year and are led by trained school counselors and the director of Student Services, Beth Patton.

The state has not provided the schools any additional money to implement the new policies, which can be costly.

“Some provisions don’t require any money,” Superintendent Dr. Trey Holladay said.

As for the programs that do, Holladay said, “We’ll make it work, if it’s good for our kids.”

Additional policy provisions include:

• Increase student awareness about the relationship between drug and alcohol abuse and suicide;

• Promote cooperation between schools and community prevention groups;

• Develop a process that relates board policies regarding suicide prevention and awareness to students; and

• Implement support strategies for survivors of attempted suicide, while providing assistance to the students and school personnel affected by issues relating to attempted suicide, suicide, the death of a student and healing.

According to the Jason Foundation Inc., the Jason Flatt Act is the nation’s most inclusive and mandatory youth suicide awareness and prevention legislation pertaining to teacher in-service training. First enacted in Tennessee in 2007, 19 states have since passed the Jason Flatt Act. Clark Flatt is the president of the Tennessee-based foundation and named the act in honor of his 16-year-old son who committed suicide in 1997.