Texas: 12% of teens attempted suicide in 2017; elementary students should be taught to cope

July 3, 2018, Amarillo, TX, High Plains Public Radio: As Teen Suicide Rates Climb, Texas Legislators Discuss Mental Health Services In Schools http://hppr.org/post/teen-suicide-rates-climb-texas-legislators-discuss-mental-health-services-schools Twelve percent of teenagers in Texas said they attempted suicide in 2017, according to a report released last month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's higher than the national average of 7 percent. Seventeen percent of ninth- through 12th-graders surveyed in Texas said they seriously considered suicide last year, and 14 percent said they had made a plan for how to do it. … The report came out as legislators and advocates are discussing how to improve mental health services in schools following the shooting in Santa Fe. Josette Saxton, director of mental health policy at Texans Care for Children, says children should be taught how to cope with anxiety and stress as early as elementary school. … Saxton said mental health services should be a priority because it can affect so many different academic and social problems…. One thing her organization is advocating for is a statewide center to provide schools mental health resources similar to the school safety center based out of Texas State University.