Montana

The Jason Flatt Act of Montana
HB 374
Effective Date July 1, 2015

Montana is the 14th state to pass The Jason Flatt Act. This legislation recommends youth suicide awareness and prevention training for certain school personnel. This legislation requires mandatory youth suicide awareness and prevention training for teachers and principals.

An act requiring the office of public instruction to develop suicide awareness and prevention training materials for school district employees; recommending at least 2 hours of training every 5 years.

1. The office of public instruction shall provide guidance and technical assistance to Montana schools on youth suicide awareness and prevention training materials. All training materials offered must be approved by the public instruction, meet the standards for professional development in the state, and be periodically reviewed by a qualified person or committee for consistency with generally accepted principles of youth suicide awareness and prevention training.
2. The legislature recommends that youth suicide awareness and prevention training be made available annually to each employee of a school district and to staff of the office of public instruction who work directly with any students enrolled in Montana public schools. The training must be provided at no cost to the employee. The training may be offered through any method of training identified in subsection (3).
3. The legislature recommends that employees under subsection (2) take a least 2 hours of youth suicide awareness and prevention training every 5 years. Appropriate methods for delivery of the training include:
   1. in-person attendance at a live training;
   2. videoconference;
   3. an individual program of study of designated materials;
   4. self-review modules available online; and
   5. any other method chosen by local school board that is consistent with professional development standards.

Additional Resources

Montana – State Statistical Page