BATON ROUGE — The Baton Rouge Alliance for Students has released its Youth Voice Report, drawing on responses from more than 500 middle and high school students across East Baton Rouge about their educational experiences.

Now in its fifth consecutive year, the report covers topics including school safety, mental health support, teachers and local education leadership. It is being released as school heads back into session.

One of the more notable gaps in this year's findings involves mental health. Eighty-one percent of students said mental health challenges affect them or their peers, but only 33% believe their school provides adequate mental health support.

On civic engagement, more than half of students said they would attend or speak at a school board meeting and 65% said they would do the same at a Metro Council meeting if given the opportunity.

The report also found a connection between students knowing their school board representative and feeling heard. Students who can identify their representative are nearly three times more likely to believe the board cares about them — 65.2% compared to 22.5% among those who cannot name their representative.

Students continued to rank safety, teacher support and mental health resources as the top issues they want local leaders to address.

"Over the last four years, we've seen what's possible when leaders put students first, make difficult but critical decisions and stay focused on improving outcomes," said Adonica Pelichet Duggan, CEO of the Baton Rouge Alliance for Students. "That was the result of leadership, accountability and a commitment to students' needs at the center of every decision. This report provides an important piece of the blueprint for leaders seeking to make sure every child has the opportunity to succeed."

The full report, including detailed findings and recommendations, is available at www.batonrougestudents.org.