All NYC public school nurses to get suicide-prevention training by October

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Schools Chancellor David C. Banks announced Tuesday that all New York City Public School (NYCPS) nurses will participate in a new standardized suicide-prevention training course.

School nurses play a critical role in suicide prevention and are often the first point of contact for students experiencing mental health issues or emotional distress, Banks said in the announcement.

In New York state, youth suicide rates have recently reached at 20-year high, according to a report announced in 2023 by Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Recently, Borough President Vito Fossella, government health officials, school leaders and local partners in health care unveiled a Behavioral Health Blueprint plan to help identify Staten Island children in need of support.

The nurses training stems from a partnership between the city Department of Health, and The Jed Foundation (JED), a nonprofit that focuses on preventing suicide in teens and young adults through awareness and education, and the city Office of School Health. The initiatitive will focus on developing a new standardized suicide prevention training course for those public school nurses working across more than 1,800 pre-K–12 schools in all five boroughs.

The nurses, who support 1.1 million students in the nation’s largest school district, will complete JED’s 90-minute, eight-module online course, titled Suicide Prevention for School Nurses, by the end of October, according to the announcement.

Launched in June after pilot testing with 30 NYCPS nurses, the course uses scenario-based learning and the Ask Suicide-Screening Questions tool to enhance nurses’ abilities to identify, screen and refer students at risk for suicide.

To date, at least 375 nurses have completed the course, with ratings on ability to identify warning signs and risk factors of suicide increasing by three points on average (on a 10-point scale) post-training, the announcement said.

Participants have also learned about common mental health challenges, signs of distress, when to mobilize a crisis team, tips for managing emotional carryover and burnout, and more.

The 2023 NYC Teen Mental Health Survey from the Health Department found that 48% of teens experience depressive symptoms ranging from mild to severe. Nearly one in four NYC teens (24%) said that sometime in the past 12 months they needed or wanted mental health care but did not get it.

“Our administration continues to remain laser focused on addressing the crisis of youth mental health,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “Today’s announcement, in partnership with The Jed Foundation, to train approximately 1,500 school nurses in suicide prevention brings us one step closer to meeting our students where they are and supporting their mental health needs at every turn.

“Whether it is filing a lawsuit to hold social media companies accountable, launching TeenSpace — a free tele-mental health service that has already supported over 1,800 youth in seeking help from licensed professionals — or providing more services directly in schools, we will do everything we can to ensure our future leaders have the support they need to thrive emotionally, mentally, and physically.”

School nurses are champions of students’ well-being, said Banks, and they must be equipped to jump into action and help any student calling out for it.

“I’m so proud to be partnering with JED to bring this training to school nurses across the city as we continue the critical work of supporting the mental health of our students,’' Banks said.

Mental health is health, said Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan, and nurses need as many tools as possible to work with children in our schools. “This training will help them develop their abilities to recognize distress and step in, as a trusted adult, if they see a student who is hurting,’' he said.

The new initiative is one of the ways New York City Public Schools provides mental health supports to students. Young people can also find support via social workers, mental health clinics and partnerships with more than 130 external community-based mental health providers offering services in more than 590 schools.