The purpose of the current study is to investigate the relationships between suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs), school climate, and student demographics among middle school students. The study was conducted with a sample of 152,191 middle school students across 607 schools within 182 school districts in a southeastern state. Results support prior research that positive perceptions of school climate are associated with fewer reports of STB. Participants identified family reasons, bullying, peer problems, and “other” as the most common reasons for STB. Further, older students and males were more likely to engage in STB than their counterparts. When examining cross‐sectional interactions, race/ethnicity moderated the relationship between school climate and STB. Findings from the study support the role of school psychologists in advocating for prevention and intervention STB supports for middle school students with particular attention to students who may be at increased risk based on group identification. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

School climate is a topic of increasing importance internationally. The current study investigated the established measurement invariance of an eight-factor school climate scale using a multi-national sample of secondary students. School climate factor means across 14 international groups were compared and findings on the association between school climate factors and mental health were also investigated. Findings from this study illustrate several

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Students living in foster care are at risk for experiencing many challenges in school, spanning domains of social–emotional, behavioral, and academic functioning. They are twice as likely to be absent from school and to have received and out‐of‐school suspension and up to three and a half times more likely to receive special education services. Therefore, it is important for schools to recognize and respond to the unique needs of students in foster care to provide the necessary resources for school success. When working with students in foster care, school psychologists should be equipped to support the success of these students by determining what the needs of students in foster care are, and how to meet identified needs. The current paper will discuss the education‐related vulnerabilities and presenting problems for children in foster care and outline social–emotional, behavioral, and academic supports that school psychologists can offer.

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