COLLEGES/UNIVERSITIES: Provides relative to suicide prevention plans at colleges and universities

Education

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: Edmond Jordan
Last action: 2026-05-29
Official status: Sent to Governor
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not specify consequences for non-compliance with the bill's requirements.

Suicide Prevention Plans for Louisiana Colleges and Universities

This bill requires Louisiana's public colleges and universities to display suicide prevention hotline numbers, provide mental health information through interactive formats, offer trained staff support, and collect nonidentifiable data on suicide risk assessments.

What This Bill Does

Requires each public postsecondary education institution in Louisiana to display the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number (988) and local or state suicide prevention hotline numbers on their websites and student ID cards.
Requires institutions to provide new and transfer students with information about mental health services and early warning signs for suicide through interactive formats like online programs or videos, not just paper handouts.
Requires each institution to have trained staff available 24/7 via phone or other means to help students dealing with mental health issues.
Requires institutions to develop a system for collecting nonidentifiable data on suicide risk assessments, including demographic information and referrals to mental health services.

Who It Names or Affects

Public postsecondary education institutions in Louisiana
Students attending these institutions

Terms To Know

Nonidentifiable Data: Information that does not allow individual students to be personally identified.
Suicide Risk Assessments: Evaluations conducted by institutions to determine if a student is at risk of suicide.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify what happens if an institution fails to comply with these requirements.
It's unclear how the collected data will be used or shared beyond the institution.

Bill History

2026-05-29 H
Sent to the Governor for executive approval.
2026-05-28 S
Signed by the President of the Senate.
2026-05-28 H
Enrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House.
2026-05-28 H
Received from the Senate without amendments.
2026-05-27 S
Read by title, passed by a vote of 34 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.
2026-05-27 S
Called from the Calendar.
2026-05-26 S
Read by title and returned to the Calendar, subject to call.
2026-05-26 S
Rules suspended.
2026-05-20 S
Reported without Legislative Bureau amendments. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage.
2026-05-19 S
Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
2026-05-18 S
Reported favorably.
2026-04-01 S
Read second time by title and referred to the Committee on Education.
2026-03-31 S
Received in the Senate. Rules suspended. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.
2026-03-31 H
Read third time by title, roll called on final passage, yeas 100, nays 0. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
2026-03-31 H
Called from the calendar.
2026-03-31 H
Read by title, returned to the calendar.
2026-03-30 H
Scheduled for floor debate on 03/31/2026.
2026-03-26 H
Read by title, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.
2026-03-25 H
Reported favorably (14-0).
2026-03-09 H
Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Education.
2026-02-27 H
First appeared in the Interim Calendar on 2/27/2026.
2026-02-27 H
Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Education.
2026-02-27 H
Prefiled.

Official Summary Text

COLLEGES/UNIVERSITIES: Provides relative to suicide prevention plans at colleges and universities

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

ENROLLED
2026 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 626
BY REPRESENTATIVES JORDAN AND CHASSION
1 AN ACT
2 To enact R.S. 17:1819, relative to suicide prevention; to implement recommendations made
3 by the Task Force on African American Suicide Rates; to require public post-
4 secondary education institutions to provide certain information regarding suicide
5 prevention; to provide for the collection and sharing of aggregated, nonidentifiable
6 data on suicide risk assessments; to provide for applicability; and to provide for
7 related matters.
8 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
9 Section 1. R.S. 17:1819 is hereby enacted to read as follows:
10 §1819. Public postsecondary education institution suicide prevention initiatives
11 A.(1) Each public postsecondary education institution shall post on its
12 website the following information:
13 (a) The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline hotline number, "988", with an
14 explanation that this number may be called or texted.
15 (b) A local suicide prevention hotline number, if available, and a state
16 suicide prevention hotline number, if available.
17 (2) Each public postsecondary education institution shall have printed on
18 student identification cards the information provided in Subparagraphs (1)(a) and (b)
19 of this Subsection.
20 B. Each public postsecondary education institution shall implement the
21 following suicide prevention initiatives:
22 (1) Provide each entering full-time, part-time, undergraduate, graduate, and
23 professional student, including transfer students, information about available mental
24 health and suicide prevention services and early warning signs for a person who may
25 be considering suicide. The information may be provided through a live presentation
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HB NO. 626 ENROLLED
1 or a format that allows student interaction, including an online program or video, and
2 shall not be provided in a paper format only.
3 (2) Provide that individuals with training and experience in mental health
4 issues who focus on reducing student suicides and attempted suicides are available
5 on campus or remotely by telephone or other means for students twenty-four hours
6 a day, seven days a week.
7 C.(1) Each public postsecondary education institution shall develop and
8 implement a system for collecting and reporting data on suicide risk assessments
9 conducted by that institution. The data collected shall include but not be limited to:
10 (a) The total number of suicide risk assessments conducted annually.
11 (b) Demographic information, including race, ethnicity, and gender.
12 (c) The number of students referred to mental health services as a result of
13 the assessments.
14 (2) All data collected and reported shall be aggregated and nonidentifiable,
15 ensuring that individual students cannot be personally identified.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
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