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