Implications for School Health Policy, Practice, and Equity
One advantage of the SDSPET is its ability to highlight specific areas of policy deficiency and strength. In our analysis of Utah school district policies, subsection scores for re-entry and postvention were particularly low. This is troubling because the period following a psychiatric hospitalization is critical, as the student is at heightened risk for subsequent hospitalizations.31 Clearly specifying re-entry procedures is necessary for coordinating the efforts of all teachers and faculty involved at the time of re-entry.32, 33, 34 Likewise, specific protocols for postvention protect the mental health of all students and may prevent further suicides, including suicide contagion.35, 36, 37 Districts may utilize the SDSPET and principles of the MSDP to strengthen policies regarding these critical processes.
In addition to subsection scores, the SDSPET provides useful information on individual criteria. For instance, none of the school districts mention procedures for responding to written threats of suicide (criterion I-2). This could indicate poor preparedness to respond to such a scenario. On the other hand, the analysis identified two criteria with unusually high inclusion rates. Most policies included guidelines regarding professional development training (Pr-4) and parental notification (I-6). One explanation for this is that these principles are discussed in a template for bullying policy presented by the Utah State Board of Education.38 This may suggest that resources provided by state agencies influence the comprehensiveness of localized district policies and highlights the importance of coordination between state and district-level entities.30