One teacher had to run her students out of the classroom when a kid started throwing books during a meltdown. A principal had a child who would crawl under the desk in his office to cry. A girl told school administrators that her friend had been hurting herself, and she didn’t know how to help. A mom found her nine-year-old son’s to-do list for the day and “commit suicide” was the last item not crossed off after his homework.
These were the stories that residents from across the state told lawmakers Thursday as they asked for support of a bill that would fund more therapists in schools throughout Utah.