Teacher Readiness, Actions, and Barriers to Classroom Implementation of Mental Health Resources: Insights from K-12 Teachers in the Healthy Minds, Thriving Kids Program.

Teachers play a critical role in supporting student mental health but face barriers to implementingclassroom-based resources. This study examined the implementation of the Healthy Minds,Thriving Kids (HMTK) program – free, evidence-based mental health videos for K–12 schoolsand families. After viewing the videos, 3,079 California K–12 educators completed a follow-upsurvey on implementation status, perceptions, and barriers. Analysis identified three teachergroups (n=1,806): “Early Implementers” (used the resources), “Prospective Implementers” (planto use them), and “Non-Implementers” (no plan to use them). While both Early and ProspectiveImplementers valued the resources, the latter cited time constraints and administrative approvalprocesses as key barriers. Non-Implementers found the content less relevant but also noted timeconstraints as a challenge. Machine learning analysis showed that teacher readiness and actionsfor implementation were shaped by internal factors (e.g., beliefs, self-efficacy) and externalsupport (e.g., school leadership). Notably, teachers in schools with more students eligible for freeor reduced-price lunch were more likely to demonstrate readiness and take action for implementingclassroom-based mental health resources. These findings highlight three priorities to narrow thegap between teachers’ motivation and the support needed for implementation: providing structuredsupport to reduce systemic barriers like time constraints, strengthening teachers' intrinsicmotivation and school leadership backing, and prioritizing schools serving students from lowsocioeconomic backgrounds – where both student needs and teacher motivation are high.