Suicide Screening and Surveillance of Students, Discrimination, and Privacy: The Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act

Abstract

The Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act (GLS) was first enacted in 2004 for the purposes of early screening, intervention, and prevention of suicide in students 10 to 24 years of age, and to hire more college counselors. More than 16 years later, GLS suicide prevention programs have not been found to be effective in reducing suicide rates, while their harms have not been considered. This Article reviews the state of the evidence on school suicide prevention and explores the suicide surveillance of the GLS, its systems of peer-to-peer monitoring and reporting of marginalized students “at risk”—students with disabilities, racial/ethnic, sexual, and religious minorities, victims of bullying, students with homelessness or foster care records, and other suicide risk factors. It explores the GLS public health approach to address the burdens of suicidal students, isolate suicide risks, and avoid suicide contagion. It also describes possible harms of the GLS suicide surveillance approach: stigmatization; violated privacy; estrangement from peers, parents, therapists and other social supports; police involvement and warrantless searches; potential exacerbation of suicidality; and restricted civil rights in non-school settings such as employment and involuntary commitment proceedings. It then compares the threats imposed by school surveillance for violence and suicide and suggests that paternalistic justifications might account for the relative lack of concerns raised so far regarding the latter. The Article then briefly considers the functions of participating in suicide surveillance for teachers and staff, and concludes with recommendations to repeal the GLS.