This last session, the Iowa Legislature appropriated $2.1 million towards mental health training for schools. This includes funding so the state’s area education agencies can offer Youth Mental Health First Aid, an 8-hour course that trains staff on how to assess and deal with students facing mental health issues. But with 17 million kids nationwide estimated to have a mental illness, some say this isn’t nearly enough.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ 1) Teachers gather in Storm Lake High School’s library to take Youth Mental Health First Aid. The training is offered through the Prairie Lakes Area Education Agency, and was funded through $130,000 the AEA received from the state.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ 2) The Storm Lake School District is the first district in the Prairie Lakes AEA to do the training, which teaches symptoms of mental illnesses, how to respond and even what to say – and what not to say -- to students in crisis. Prairie Lakes AEA Chief Administrator Jeff Herzberg said about 15 of the agency’s 39 school districts have...