PA Mulls Placing Suicide Prevention Hotline Numbers On Student IDs

HARRISBURG, PA — Suicide prevention hotline numbers would be mandatory under legislation about to be introduced in the state House.

State Rep. Tina Davis, a Bucks County Democrat, has authored a bill that would require all Pennsylvania public schools that issue identification cards for students in grades 6-12 to print
local, state, and federal suicide prevention hotline numbers on those cards.

The bill is similar to legislation introduced in Michigan and New Hampshire.

" A Michigan legislator recently introduced a bill called Save Our Students after she learned of two students in her child’s school district who committed suicide," Davis wrote. "One of the children, whose parents have started raising awareness about suicide in youth, was scared to reach out for help from those he knew."

In 2020, suicide was among the top 9 leading causes of death for people ages 10-64. Suicide was the second leading cause of death for people ages 10-14, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.