Tom Cullerton | The Office of Tom Fullerton
Tom Cullerton | The Office of Tom Fullerton
With suicide being the third leading cause of death in people ages 15 to 34 in Illinois, state Sen. Tom Cullerton hopes that a bill he recently introduced will help prevent another tragedy.
Senate Bill 1793 would require educators who teach grades 6 through 12 to participate in four hours of training in youth suicide awareness and prevention every five years in hopes that they will be better equipped to see the early warning signs of suicide.
“Our children shouldn’t ever feel like they don’t have any other avenue than to take such drastic steps," Cullerton said. "This legislation will help us catch early warning signs and arm teachers with the tools they need to help students. The statistics are alarming."
More than 14 percent of high schoolers have considered suicide and almost 7 percent have attempted it, Cullerton said.
"Suicide is preventable and we need to ensure our children have the necessary protections in place as well as reassurance that there is someone to turn to," Cullerton said.
Having passed the Senate with bipartisan support, SB1793 now moves to the House for consideration.
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