28-05-2025
State board oks another suicide-prevention course
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — There will now be a half-dozen different ways that K-12 educators in South Dakota can get their required suicide-prevention training.
The South Dakota Board of Education Standards on Tuesday approved a New Hampshire-developed program called 'CALM — Conversations on Access to Lethal Means.'
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State law calls for educators to receive at least one hour of suicide training every five years.
The CALM program joins five others already recognized and listed on the state Department of Education's website.
Andrea Effling is the department's school counseling and student support administrator. She made the presentation during the state board's teleconference meeting.
Effling said the CALM training can be taken in person or online and will always be in a live group format. The cost is $300 per school or district for the CALM instructor and materials, plus mileage for any location that is more than 20 miles outside Sioux Falls.
'It's just to add to the menu of options,' Effling said.
The five other suicide-training programs are free if taken online or have a travel charge if the trainer visits the school. Among them is based within the University of South Dakota's School of Health Sciences.
Board member Rich Meyer of Rapid City suggested another training program based in Arizona that's not on the list.
Effling said the department has an official application process and offered to provide a form.
'It's another avenue to a big problem,' Meyer said.
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