AEAs Are Providing Training to Help Districts Meet Requirements of Recent Mental Health Legislation

Iowa’s Area Education Agencies (AEAs) are providing support to Iowa schools to meet the requirements of new legislation that requires school districts to provide annual employee training and protocols in two areas related to mental health:

• Suicide Prevention and Postvention
• Identification of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Strategies to Mitigate Toxic Stress Response

Iowa’s AEAs also offer Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) training that focuses on how to help students who are experiencing a mental health, addiction challenge or crisis. YMHFA is a nationally recognized curriculum.

In addition, Heartland AEA is offering Iowa Building Strong Brains, to provide all Iowa educators with awareness of brain-aligned, trauma sensitive strategies for working with all students in Iowa’s Multi-Tiered System of Supports. This professional learning opportunity meets Iowa’s legislative requirements for training school employees on “Identification of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Strategies to Mitigate Toxic Stress Response.”

For more assistance, contact the Heartland AEA Regional Director who serves your district or AEA Learning Online.