OPI presents YRBS: preliminary 2025 data show declines from 2023 but high baseline of student mental‑health concerns

Sarah Musick, director of the coordinated school health unit at the Montana Office of Public Instruction, briefed the Education Interim Committee on the state's Youth Risk Behavior Survey results and preliminary 2025 findings.

Musick said the 2023 YRBS showed persistent and worrisome levels of student distress statewide: 43 percent of students reported feeling sad or hopeless for two weeks or more in 2023, and Montana's chronic absenteeism rate for 2022–23 was about 36 percent, among the highest in the nation. Bullying on school property was reported by roughly 25 percent of students in 2023, while 19.4 percent reported being electronically bullied.

The presentation also included 2023 suicide‑related indicators: 26.1 percent of students said they had seriously considered attempting suicide in 2023; 21.4 percent said they had made a plan for attempting. Musick emphasized that 2023 results were generally higher than national averages.

Musick cautioned that the 2025 numbers she shared were preliminary and not yet official because the CDC and data processing timelines were delayed; she said OPI expects official 2025 YRBS data later this year. With that caveat, the department's preliminary analysis shows declines across several measures: the share of students reporting prolonged sadness fell from 43 percent in 2023 to a preliminarily reported 28.9 percent in 2025; the share who said they had seriously considered attempting suicide fell to about 14.6 percent in preliminary 2025 data, and reported attempts fell from 11.3 percent in 2023 to a preliminary 6.8 percent in 2025.

Musick highlighted subgroup differences: Native American students and female students reported higher rates of sadness and bullying than the statewide averages (Musick: "Native American students were at 52.5 percent reporting they feel sad or hopeless; female students were 54.8 percent in that graph"). She also reviewed school‑level practices captured in the 2024 profiles survey: 92.2 percent of schools report having a protocol to assess suicide risk, and roughly 76 percent reported offering a universal mental‑health program — a decline from 84.5 percent in 2022. Musick said school leaders most often cited funding and staff capacity as barriers to implementation.

Committee members asked detailed questions. Representative Deming asked if the bullying metrics separate in‑school from electronic incidents; Musick replied that the electronic bullying item does not specify location, while the general bullying question explicitly asks about school property. When asked about program costs, Musick said costs vary widely by intervention: implementing the PAX Good Behavior Game with fidelity can cost $10,000 to $30,000 for initial teacher training, while other evidence‑based options are much cheaper or free.

Musick said OPI posts resources and links to evidence clearinghouses on its website and that the agency is compiling a more comprehensive list of school interventions and supports.

The committee did not take action during the presentation. Musick's remarks and the Q&A set the stage for later agenda items about school safety and resource allocations that members indicated they would consider in future meetings.