Student Suicide Prevention Training & Risk Assessment Procedures
All Grades

Principal Bulletin Action RequiredDeadline: October 31, 2023

Today鈥檚 students continue to face unprecedented pressures, including continuing to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic that may lead to emotional distress, depression, anxiety, and even thoughts of suicide. Suicide continues to be the second leading cause of death among our youth. In 2021 the suicide rate among high school- and college-aged (15-24 yo) youth increased by 8%. 

As educators, we can help mitigate these mental health risks and save lives by learning how to recognize signs of emotional distress, warning signs for harm to self or others including the crisis of suicide, and how to help students access supports. 

Take these 3 simple steps:

  1. Review and adhere to the 2023-24 SCUSD Suicide Risk Assessment Procedures. 
  2. Distribute these procedures to school staff and review the steps taken when a concern about student safety is identified. These procedures apply in all educational settings (i.e. during school day or extracurricular school events). 
  3. Ensure all staff complete the online suicide prevention training: Kognito At- Risk For Educators

SCUSD Student Suicide Prevention Training Mandate

State Law AB2246, AB1767, & SCUSD Board Policy 5141.52 requires all district staff and all other adults who work with students to be trained in suicide prevention awareness.

Mandated Trainings - Suicide Awareness Prevention

SCUSD has adopted Kognito, an online role-play simulation to help us recognize the signs of distress, use conversations to approach a student, discuss our concerns and refer parents/students to the appropriate resources. The Kognito simulations let you practice these challenging conversations at your own pace through role-play with an emotionally-responsive virtual student or parent.

For the 2023-24 school year, all district staff are required to complete the Kognito At-Risk For Educators simulation. This simulation will take approximately 45-60 minutes to complete.

To access this training, follow the steps below:

  • Step 1: Visit . 

    • If the user receives an error message or is prompted to enter an enrollment key, they are in the old platform; this can be corrected by clicking the link above. 
  • Step 2: Log in or create a new account 
    • New users will need to know their school site. NOTE: Only the fields with an asterisk (*) need to be completed. 
  • Step 3: Select your School/Institution. 
    • If you work from Serna/District office, select 鈥淪CUSD Department鈥. 
  • Step 4: Select a school level (i.e. Elementary, Middle, or High School). 
    • If you serve multiple school level select the one you are most interested in learning about or that applies to your role. New staff who do not yet have an SCUSD email address may log in with their person email address. 
  • Step 5: Launch the 鈥淎t-Risk for Educators鈥 simulation. You may start and stop the simulation anytime and will be able to pick back up where you stopped. If you need any tech support, email: support@kognito.com for assistance.
  • Step 6: Complete the ending evaluation, which will automatically generate your certificate of completion. The system will electronically track your certificate and indicate you have met the state law mandate. You do not have to submit anything further to the district.

If you have any issues with logging in or questions about the Kognito simulations 鈥 please reach out to the Student Support & Health Services team 鈥 Jacqueline Garner, Executive Director SSHS at jacqueline-garner@scusd.edu or Nailah Kokayi, Coordinator II, Student Support Services at nailah-kokayi@scud.edu.

Thank you for your work in enhancing the safety net for youth by completing these simulations. Together we can all help keep our students and community safe.