Baton Rouge students say mental health support falls short, new report finds

The useful part

Now in its fifth consecutive year, the report covers topics including school safety, mental health support, teachers and local education leadership. One of the more notable gaps in this year's findings involves mental health. Eighty-one percent of students said mental health challenges affect them or their peers, but only 33% believe their school provides adequate mental health support.

How it works

• On civic engagement, more than half of students said they would attend or speak at a school board meeting and 65% said they would do the same at a Metro Council meeting if given the opportunity.
• The report also found a connection between students knowing their school board representative and feeling heard.
• Students who can identify their representative are nearly three times more likely to believe the board cares about them.
• Students continued to rank safety, teacher support and mental health resources as the top issues they want local leaders to address.
• "Over the last four years, we've seen what's possible when leaders put students first, make difficult but critical decisions a...

Details worth keeping

It is being released as school heads back into session. 65.2% compared to 22.5% among those who cannot name their representative.