There’s a bill in the Michigan legislature which could lead to teachers getting special mental health training.

State Sen. Sylvia Santana’s bill directs the Departments of Education & Health and Human Services to develop a professional development course for teachers on “mental health first aid.”

“Our teachers are our first responders with our students,” says Santana. “We want them to be able to have a mechanism where they can identify if there are any issues of mental health with our students, or a trauma, any type of mental illnesses that might be impacting their education.”

Suicidal threats were the most frequently reported tip to Michigan’s "OK-2-Say" program for state school children in the final quarter of 2018.