The Tamaqua Area School District took steps Tuesday to adopt a suicide awareness policy.

At a workshop held in the Tamaqua Area Middle School All-Purpose Room, the board's education committee approved the first reading of the proposed policy, putting it on the agenda of the next regular meeting.According to the district assistant superintendent, the move is mandated by the state."Act 71 requires a suicide prevention and response training for grades six through 12, faculty and staff," said Raymond Kinder.Kinder said the requirement is similar to Act 126 training for child abuse and might necessitate, for example, an hour or so of training each year.In other matters, the district will re-examine the school year calendar, according to Superintendent Carol Makuta, and will opt to schedule graduation on a Wednesday "when school actually ends," as opposed to a Friday.In other discussion, out-of-state trips are being proposed by Roseann Weinrich, high school biology teacher, to take the AP biology class to Chincoteague Bay Field Station at Wallops Island, Virginia, from Oct. 4-7.In addition, Weinrich proposes to take the honors biology class to Brooklyn Zoo, New York, on or about Nov. 4 and the anatomy and physiology class to Body Worlds, New York, on or about March 1.In other matters, the finance committee recommends approval of an agreement between the district and Schuylkill Intermediate Unit 29 for special education services for a tentative amount of $538,533.The committee also recommends the district establish a cut off for financial assistance for the dress code for household incomes less than 130 percent of the poverty guideline established by the Pennsylvania Department of Nutrition.Unless the idea is revisited, the board is expected to establish the school uniform stipend at $25 per student.Tuition rates for the district will be $7,943 for elementary school, $3,972 for kindergarten half day and $9,793 for secondary students.It was noted that one nonresident student is expected to attend Tamaqua Area High School on a parent-paid tuition basis for the 2015-16 school year.