Oregon lawmakers OK policies to curb youth suicide

Legislation requiring school districts to adopt plans and policies to prevent youth suicide passed the Oregon House unanimously Friday and now goes to Gov. Kate Brown to become law.

Senate Bill 52, or Adi’s Act, is named in honor of Adi Staub, a Portland high school student who died by suicide in 2017.

“Despite being fully supported and embraced by her family, Adi struggled to find footing in a world that did not accept the person who she always knew herself to be,” said chief sponsor Rep. Barbara Smith Warner (D-Portland). “The risk of death by suicide increases in more vulnerable populations, including those with disabilities, kids facing addiction, kids with out-of-home placements such as foster care, LGBTQ youth, and those bereaved by the death by suicide of others.”

The legislation requires the State Board of Education to adopt rules, in consultation with the Oregon Health Authority, to guide district planning. School districts are able to utilize suicide prevention experts, as well as school employees, parents and others to help develop their suicide prevention plans and policies.

Lon and Christine Staub, Adi’s parents, who were in attendance for the bill’s passage on Friday, said in submitted testimony that society needs to do a better job recognizing cries for help.

“Our youth need to feel supported at home, at school, in the community and by their peers,” they wrote. “We have made incredible progress during the last few decades, but the continued high rates of suicide, particularly among transgender youth, demonstrates we have a long way to go.”

According to the Oregon Health Authority, suicide is the second-leading cause of death among young people aged 10 to 24 in Oregon. Teenagers face ever-increasing levels of social pressure, whether from social media, school, or trauma at home.

Rep. Courtney Neron (D-Wilsonville), a former teacher, said she saw firsthand the struggles of students in her own classroom.

“I have worried for the safety of my students when they left my classroom at the end of class, desperately hoping that they would all return,” Rep. Neron said. “I knew that some of my students were not getting emotional support at home, which is why it is so important for schools to get best practices for policies and plans to prevent, intervene, and work through the aftermath of a death by suicide.”

Adi’s Act was chief sponsored by Rep. Smith Warner, Rep. Margaret Doherty (D-Tigard), Rep. Rob Nosse (D-Portland), Rep. Karin Power (D-Milwaukie) and Rep. Jennifer Williamson (D-Portland), Sen. Rob Wagner (D-Lake Oswego) and Sen. Arnie Roblan (D-Coos Bay). The legislation was sponsored by a bipartisan group of 47 legislators.