Arizona's student-to-counselor ratio is still the worst in the nation, with an average of 905 students for every school counselor.

The newest numbers, from the 2016-2017 school year, are from the American School Counselor Association. Arizona's ratio is more than three times the organization's recommended ratio of 250:1, and is near twice the national average of 455:1.

Michigan has the second-highest student to counselor ratio in the nation, at 741:1.

About 60 percent of states require counselors in high schools and nearly half mandate counselors in elementary and middle schools, according to the association. Arizona does not.

Arizona's ratio actually jumped slightly. It was 903:1 the previous school year.

Janine Menard, a counselor in the Isaac School District and the chair of the Arizona School Counselors Association, said she is the only full-time counselor to her school's 1,100 students.

The ratio, she said, spells trouble for student success in Arizona.

Counselors support students academically, but they can also be the first line of defense when a student is facing a mental health crisis. As the teen suicide rate swells and education leaders warn of mounting emotional issues in even the youngest children, educators say counselors are more important than ever.

"There are students who are falling through the cracks," Menard said. "It's impossible to support and reach every single student when you have so many."

Legislation to add more counselors went unheard

Arizona held a 743:1 ratio a decade ago, but climbed as high as 941:1 in the post-recession years before slowly improving, data shows.

The improved ratio — still more than three times the recommended number — has been a sticking point for Arizona's March for Our Lives student and #RedForEd teacher movements.

The Arizona School Counselors Association worked with Democrats in the House and the Senate on a bill that the Republican-led legislature never heard.

MORE:New Arizona school safety law focuses on police, not counselors

Senate Bill 1344 and identical House Bill 2562 would have sent nearly $100 million by 2023 to a grant program for schools to apply for funding for counseling. It would have also mandated a required 550:1 student to certified counselor ratio in every public district school and charter school in Arizona.

"I feel like (legislators) are not doing anything," Menard said. "There's not much legislation going on around education and funding."

Gov. Doug Ducey proposed $12 million over the next two years in this year's budget proposal to fund more than 200 new school counselor and social worker positions. It's unclear if legislators will fund Ducey's ask; the Legislature is still working on a budget.

School budgets for counselors strained

Experts say Arizona has no shortage of counselors, many just can't find work as schools make tough budget decisions.

"Back in 2007, when the recession hit, school counselors were usually the first ones to get cut," Menard said.

She added that while the teacher shortage persists, a counselor shortage exists, too. In many cases, counselors make less than Arizona teachers, making it harder to retain them.

Additional money sent to schools from Ducey's 20% by 2020 teacher raise plan last year only went to counselors in some districts: It was ultimately up to district leadership to decide whether counselors received any extra funding, she said.

"You could have very well have had a school counselor who walked out and supported the #RedForEd movement," she said. "And then they came back to their school and they received nothing. They got absolutely nothing out of that."

Suicide prevention bill passed

There is one "great" bill that has made it to the governor's desk, Menard said.

Senate Bill 1468, introduced by Sen. Sean Bowie, D-Phoenix, would require school districts and charters to provide suicide awareness and prevention training to counselors, teachers, principals and other school staff who work with students in grades 6-12 beginning in the 2020-2021 school year.

It's called the Mitch Warnock Act, named after a Corona Del Sol high school student who died by suicide in 2016.

Ducey told KTAR during a radio interview that he planned to sign the law.

The suicide rate for Arizona children ages 15-19 increased from 6.8 deaths per 100,000 in 2013 to 13.8 per 100,000 in 2015, according to data from the Arizona Department of Health Services. It's since decreased slightly to 11.9 per 100,000 in 2017, the most recent year of data available.

The training would help teachers and counselors "tell the difference between the student having a bad day and having a bad couple of weeks," Bowie said.

"It's an attempt to have some training in place on the school-level to help (staff) spot the warning signs," he said.

Reach the reporter at Lily.Altavena@ArizonaRepublic.com or follow her on Twitter @LilyAlta.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.