More than 200 Atlanta school employees will receive mental health training and students at 25 middle and high schools will participate in a suicide prevention program paid for with funding from Fulton County.

Fulton County Board of Commissioners voted 5-0 Wednesday to give Atlanta Public Schools $250,000 this year for various programs. 

The school district will use $52,850 to provide eight hours of mental health training to 216 staff members, who will learn the risk factors and warning signs of mental health problems in children, according to the district’s request for funding. It also will cover a suicide prevention program at 25 middle and high schools.

Nearly $70,000 of the county’s money will pay for 10 vision screening machines to detect eyesight problems in students.

The district also will use the money to pay for attendance incentives and to provide “mini-grants” to schools to support activities and events.

About the Author

Keep Reading

Students line up after school for school buses at Sequoyah Middle School in Doraville on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. The school’s principal told teachers not to talk to students about ICE, and teachers and activists are pushing back. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

Featured

Waymo autonomous vehicles operate across 65 square miles inside I-285 and have been involved in six incidents with Atlanta Public School buses since May. Waymo issued a recall because of their cars briefly stopping or slowing down before continuing forward while a bus was stopped and flashing its lights. (Courtesy of Atlanta Public Schools)

Credit: Courtesy of Atlanta Public Schools