Suicide is the third leading killer of young people today.
Statistics such as these may be startling because our future is seen in our youth. Wanda Johnson considers the issues surrounding suicide in her book Youth Suicide but emphasizes the role of prevention. Likewise, this emphasis should be considered by both secondary and middle schools especially in light of Kelson v. The City of Springfield, 1985. In this case, the court ruled that the school can be held liable if the school does not have an adequate suicide prevention program. Johnson lists the at-risk indicators as well as the myths of teen suicide.