Dive Brief:

• GoGuardian, a software tool that allows schools to flag potentially suicidal students by setting alerts for key terms, is creating a debate about student privacy issues.
• Ontario Christian Schools in California has used the software for three years, pre-installing it on all Chromebooks, and school administrators say it's led to positive interventions for students who had been searching topics like self-harm.
• A reported 2,000 districts use GoGuardian, and critics say that the software results in "overreach" by schools, constant monitoring and a pre-emptive desire to save students from themselves.

Dive Insight:

Because suicide is currently the third-leading cause of death for ten to 24-year-olds, it's important to take the issue seriously, but the debate over whether that should take priority over students' right to privacy rages on. That said, new tech like GoGuardian should operate within an individual school system's code of conduct. One option could include notifying parents and community members of its use and allowing families to opt out.  

In other states, legislative approaches to curbing student suicide have been proposed. A bipartisan bill in New Jerseyaimed to require public school educators and staff to take part in an annual two-hour suicide prevention training session taught by a certified health care professional, and on the Pine Ridge Reservation, a federal SERV grant has helped students recover from a rash of suicides.

Recommended Reading

NPR: Software Flags 'Suicidal' Students, Presenting Privacy Dilemma