Maine educators are deeply concerned about the mental health of their students. They regularly report to the MEA rising behavioral and emotional challenges as one of the top issues affecting students.
Data from the Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey also underscores the need to address the overall mental health of students. In the 2023 survey of nearly 30,000 high school students in Maine:
- 35% said they felt “so sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks or more in a row” that they stopped doing usual activities.[1]
- 18% reported they seriously considered suicide over the past 12 months.[2]
The survey results from middle school students were equally troubling:
- 33% of felt “so sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks or more in a row” that they stopped doing usual activities.
- 22% report they have serious considered suicide over the past 12 months.[3]
One bill, LD 858, An Act to Ensure Behavioral and Mental Health Services Are Available to Students by Providing Grants to Schools That Contract for Those Services, (link Paper | Maine Legislature ) proposed additional resources to help providers work in public schools.
Please email your legislators and let them know schools need more resources to provide mental health supports for students.
[1] Please see, Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey Results, High School Students, 2023, page 10 found here: Maine_2023_MIYHS_High_School_Report.pdf
[2] Ibid
[3] Please see, Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey Results, Middle School Students, 2023, page 8 found here: Maine_2023_MIYHS_Middle_School_Report.pdf
