School districts should consult their school attorney with specific concerns regarding this issue. In 1997, more young people died from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, birth defects, AIDS, stroke, pneumonia and influenza combined. Young white males are more at risk for suicide than other young people. In order to protect students, school personnel should be trained in identifying at-risk students and alerting parents so that they can seek professional help for their child. School crisis response plans should include a section on dealing with the aftermath of a student suicide.
Intervention is also necessary to protect districts and school personnel from liability.
The majority of courts have ruled that school districts and staff are not legally liable for student suicides usually because of state liability and immunity statutes. Currently, there are no Missouri cases regarding a school's liability for student suicide. Missouri does have a sovereign immunity statute which shields a public entity from liability except for injuries directly resulting from the negligent acts or omissions of public employees operating motor vehicles while acting within their course of employment and injuries caused by dangerous conditions on property created by an employee or known by the public entity. Section 537.600 RSMo. However, even if a school district is held immune from liability, the district will incur legal costs in defending the lawsuit.