Across the country, the discourse around student mental health concerns is prominent. Addressing student mental health problems requires tracking of needs. For years, the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) served as a crucial tool for state education and policy decision-makers to identify and track data around adolescent mental and physical health risks. Just some of the data captured by the YRBS include substance use, suicidal thoughts/attempts/rates, violence, sexual behaviors, and other health-related issues among youth.
Public access to the YRBS data, however, was cut in January 2025, along with other federal data sources. While previous-year datasets and webpages were restored on the CDC website per a federal court order in February 2025, many states have opted out of participating in the YRBS data collection. For 2023, Tennessee participated in high school YRBS data collection but opted out of middle school data collection.
According to key findings from the 2023 YRBS, four in ten high school students experience persistent sadness or hopelessness, and two in ten students seriously considered attempting suicide. Among Tennessee high school students, 42% of students felt sad or hopeless, and 24% of Tennessee students seriously considered attempting suicide.
We know that the majority of in-school outcomes are determined by out-of-school factors, and mental health is no exception. The loss of data presents a risk and affects how state and local jurisdictions prioritize and inform decisions around improving the health and lives of young folks. Better data around the status of youth and young adult mental health better informs strategies to address those needs. Given uncertainty about the federal and state governments’ willingness to resource data collection, prioritizing and funding mental health studies is needed at the City, County, and school board levels, in partnership with philanthropic, nonprofit, and higher education partners.
Our community cannot improve academic outcomes without addressing the mental and behavioral health needs that shape whether students are ready and able to learn. Addressing this shortage of skilled psychologists and other mental health professionals to meet student needs will require a shared commitment from MSCS and the broader community. These alarming rates of young folks experiencing depression, thoughts of suicide, and other mental health risks also underscore the urgency to understand student needs and measure progress by preserving data collection and student supports in schools. By working together, we can help ensure that more students receive timely evaluations, effective support plans, and assistance during moments of crisis, thus creating the conditions needed for every student to learn and thrive.
