I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4223 

To support evidence-based social and emotional learning programming. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 8, 2009 

Mr. KILDEE (for himself, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, and Mrs. BIGGERT) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 

Labor 

A BILL 

To support evidence-based social and emotional learning 

programming. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Academic, Social, and 

5 Emotional Learning Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) To succeed in school, students need to be 

9 engaged. They need to know how to maintain focus 

10 and effort in the face of setbacks, work effectively 


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1 with others, and be good communicators and prob2 lem-solvers. 

3 (2) Social and emotional skills form a founda4 tion for young people’s success not just in school, 

5 but as healthy and caring adults, productive work6 ers, and engaged citizens. 

7 (3) Not only can these skills be taught, they 

8 can be taught by regular classroom teachers in 

9 schools of every type to students of every back10 ground. 

11 (4) Academic outcomes resulting from social 

12 and emotional learning include greater motivation to 

13 learn and commitment to school, increased time de14 voted to schoolwork and mastery of subject matter, 

15 improved attendance, graduation rates, grades, and 

16 test scores. 

17 (5) These positive outcomes increase in stu18 dents who are involved in social and emotional learn19 ing programming by an average of 11 percentile 

20 points over students who are not involved in such 

21 programming. 

22 (6) Social and emotional learning programming 

23 also results in reduced problem behavior, improved 

24 health outcomes, a lower rate of violent delinquency, 

25 and a lower rate of heavy alcohol use. 


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1 TITLE I—GRANTS TO SUPPORT 

2 EVIDENCE-BASED SOCIAL 

3 AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING 

4 PROGRAMMING 

5 SEC. 101. PURPOSE. 

6 The purpose of this title is to advance student 

7 achievement, attainment, and social and emotional devel8 opment by establishing Federal grant programs to support 

9 social and emotional learning programming in elementary 

10 and secondary schools. 

11 SEC. 102. NATIONAL TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSIST12 ANCE CENTER. 

13 (a) GRANT AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary is author14 ized to award a grant to establish a National Technical 

15 Assistance and Training Center for Social and Emotional 

16 Learning that provides training and technical assistance 

17 to States, local educational agencies, and community18 based organizations to identify, promote, and support evi19 dence-based social and emotional learning programming in 

20 elementary and secondary schools. 

21 (b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Grant funds provided 

22 under this section shall be used— 

23 (1) to provide technical assistance to States, 

24 local educational agencies, and community-based or25 ganizations on the effective implementation of social 


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1 and emotional learning standards and programming 

2 to States, including technical assistance on coordi3 nated classroom and school-wide programming as 

4 well as how to engage families and communities in 

5 social and emotional learning efforts; 

6 (2) to provide ongoing high-quality professional 

7 development to support effective implementation of 

8 social and emotional learning standards and pro9 gramming; 

10 (3) to conduct research and disseminate infor11 mation on social and emotional learning standards 

12 and programming; 

13 (4) to develop and disseminate reliable assess14 ment tools to measure student progress in social and 

15 emotional development; and 

16 (5) to evaluate social and emotional learning 

17 programming to determine the impact of such pro18 gramming on student achievement and behavior. 

19 (c) ELIGIBLE GRANTEE.—The grant may be awarded 

20 to a nonprofit organization that has extensive experience 

21 in— 

22 (1) developing research based standards, in23 structional resources, and assessments of social and 

24 emotional learning; 


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1 (2) providing technical assistance to States, 

2 local educational agencies, and community-based or3 ganizations that are developing and implementing 

4 social and emotional learning standards and pro5 gramming; 

6 (3) providing high-quality professional develop7 ment to local educational agency and school per8 sonnel in social and emotional learning standards 

9 and programming; 

10 (4) conducting, analyzing, and disseminating 

11 research on social and emotional development and 

12 learning; and 

13 (5) evaluating social and emotional learning 

14 standards and programming. 

15 (d) APPLICATION.—Applications shall be submitted 

16 at such time and in such manner as the Secretary deter17 mines. Applications shall include a description of how the 

18 grantee— 

19 (1) will use funds consistent with subsection 

20 (b); and 

21 (2) meets the eligibility requirements described 

22 in subsection (c). 

23 (e) DURATION OF GRANT.—The grant under this sec24 tion shall be awarded for 5 years. 


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1 (f) REPORT TO SECRETARY.—The grantee shall re2 port any information the Secretary deems appropriate at 

3 such a time and in such manner as the Secretary shall 

4 require. 

5 SEC. 103. GRANTS TO STATES AND LOCAL EDUCATIONAL 

6 AGENCIES. 

7 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary is author8 ized to award competitive grants to States and local edu9 cational agencies to work with the National Technical As10 sistance and Training Center for Social and Emotional 

11 Learning to develop and implement evidence-based social 

12 and emotional learning standards and programming in ele13 mentary schools and secondary schools. 

14 (b) USES OF FUNDS FOR STATES.— 

15 (1) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—In the case of a 

16 State that receives a grant under this section, the 

17 State shall carry out the following activities: 

18 (A) Create a State social and emotional 

19 learning leadership team consisting of, at a 

20 minimum, a representative from the State edu21 cation agency, a school administrator, an educa22 tor, a parent, a representative from an institu23 tion of higher education in the State, and a co24 ordinator for mental health or pupil support 

25 services to guide the planning, implementation, 


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1 and monitoring of social and emotional learning 

2 programming. 

3 (B) Develop a State plan outlining policies, 

4 standards, or guidelines to support the imple5 mentation of evidence-based social and emo6 tional learning programming in local edu7 cational agencies. 

8 (C) Develop a statewide high-quality pro9 fessional development framework and student 

10 assessment system for State agency staff, 

11 school administrators, teachers, and paraprofes12 sionals to implement and assess social and emo13 tional learning. 

14 (D) Disseminate information to educators 

15 and the public about advances in research, 

16 practices, and policies that foster the social, 

17 emotional, and academic growth of students. 

18 (E) Engage families and communities in 

19 the social and emotional learning of students 

20 served. 

21 (2) ALLOWABLE ACTIVITIES.—In the case of a 

22 State that receives a grant under this section, the 

23 State may carry out the following activities: 

24 (A) Establish a plan and provide competi25 tive subgrants to local education agencies to 


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1 plan, implement, and evaluate sustainable social 

2 and emotional learning programming. 

3 (B) Explore the development of public-pri4 vate partnerships to fund and support quality 

5 implementation and assessment of evidence6 based social and emotional learning. 

7 (c) USES OF FUNDS FOR LOCAL EDUCATION AGEN8 CIES.—In the case of a local educational agency that re9 ceives a grant under this section, the local educational 

10 agency shall carry out the following activities: 

11 (1) Create district and or school social and 

12 emotional learning coordinator(s) and coaches who 

13 work with planning teams to plan, implement, evalu14 ate, and monitor evidence-based social and emotional 

15 learning programming. 

16 (2) Develop district- and school-level policies 

17 and plans to support the implementation, and eval18 uation of school-wide, evidence-based social and emo19 tional learning programming. 

20 (3) Provide ongoing high-quality professional 

21 development and on-site coaching to school adminis22 trators, teachers, and paraprofessionals who imple23 ment and assess evidence-based social and emotional 

24 learning. 


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1 (4) Engage families and communities in the so2 cial and emotional development and learning of stu3 dents served. 

4 (5) Provide resources and supports such as 

5 planning time, materials, and training sites for 

6 school personnel that implement and assess evi7 dence-based social and emotional learning. 

8 (6) Monitor program implementation and assess 

9 student progress in social and emotional learning 

10 over time. 

11 (7) Disseminate relevant research and informa12 tion on social and emotional development and learn13 ing. 

14 (d) APPLICATIONS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Applications shall be sub16 mitted at such time and in such manner as the Sec17 retary determines. 

18 (2) STATE APPLICATION CONTENTS.—A State 

19 application shall— 

20 (A) describe how the State will implement 

21 the required activities described in subsection 

22 (b)(1); 

23 (B) describe how the State will work with 

24 the National Training and Technical Assistance 

25 Center; 


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1 (C) describe how the State will provide on2 going support to local education agencies to en3 sure effective implementation of evidence-based 

4 social and emotional learning standards and 

5 programming; and 

6 (D) describe benchmarks of success for the 

7 State initiative. 

8 (3) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY APPLICATION

9 CONTENTS.—A local education agency application 

10 shall— 

11 (A) describe how the local education agen12 cy will implement the activities described in 

13 subsection (c); 

14 (B) describe how the local education agen15 cy will work with the National Training and 

16 Technical Assistance Center; 

17 (C) describe how the local education agen18 cy will work with the State to support evidence19 based social and emotional learning program20 ming and ensure the ongoing support of the 

21 local educational agency and school leader in 

22 schools where the grant is implemented; and 

23 (D) describe benchmarks of success for the 

24 local educational agency initiative. 


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1 (e) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants, the Secretary 

2 shall give priority to applicants serving schools— 

3 (1) with high numbers or high percentages of 

4 low-income students; 

5 (2) with high numbers or high percentages of 

6 students in schools identified as in need of improve7 ment, corrective action, or restructuring under sec8 tion 1116 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu9 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316); and 

10 (3) having a plan for sustainability of the pro11 gram beyond the duration of the grant. 

12 (f) DURATION OF GRANT.—Grants under this section 

13 shall be awarded for 5 years. 

14 (g) REPORT TO SECRETARY.—Grantees shall report 

15 any information the Secretary deems appropriate at such 

16 a time and in such manner as the Secretary shall require. 

17 SEC. 104. EVALUATION. 

18 The Secretary shall conduct an independent evalua19 tion of the activities funded under section 103. This eval20 uation shall assess the following: 

21 (1) The impact of evidence-based social and 

22 emotional learning programming on student achieve23 ment and attainment. 

24 (2) The impact of evidence-based social and 

25 emotional learning on student behavioral outcomes. 


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1 (3) The impact of professional development in 

2 social and emotional learning programming on pro3 gram planning and implementation, teacher practice, 

4 and student achievement. 

5 SEC. 105. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this title: 

7 (1) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

8 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

9 meaning given such term in section 101 of the High10 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

11 (2) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY; STATE EDU12 CATIONAL AGENCY.—The terms ‘‘local educational 

13 agency’’ and ‘‘State educational agency’’ have the 

14 meanings given the terms in section 9101 of the Ele15 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

16 U.S.C. 7801). 

17 (3) SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING.—The 

18 term ‘‘social and emotional learning’’ is the process 

19 through which children and adults acquire the 

20 knowledge, attitudes, and skills associated with the 

21 core areas of social and emotional competency in22 cluding— 

23 (A) self-awareness and self management to 

24 achieve school and life success, such as: identi25 fying and recognizing strengths, needs, emoVerDate Nov 24 2008 06:09 Dec 09, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4223.IH H4223

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1 tions, values and self-efficacy, impulse control 

2 and stress management, self-motivation and 

3 discipline, and goal setting and organizational 

4 skills; 

5 (B) social awareness and interpersonal 

6 skills to establish and maintain positive rela7 tionships, such as: perspective taking and re8 spect for others, communication, working coop9 eratively, negotiation, conflict management, 

10 help seeking; and 

11 (C) decisionmaking skills and responsible 

12 behaviors in personal, academic and community 

13 contexts, such as: situational analysis, problem 

14 solving, reflection and personal, social and eth15 ical responsibility. 

16 (4) SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING PRO17 GRAMMING.—The term ‘‘social and emotional learn18 ing programming’’ refers to classroom instruction 

19 and schoolwide activities and initiatives that— 

20 (A) integrate social and emotional learning 

21 into school curriculum; 

22 (B) provide systematic instruction whereby 

23 social and emotional skills are taught, modeled, 

24 practiced, and applied so that students use 

25 them as part of their daily behavior; 


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1 (C) teach children to apply social and emo2 tional skills to prevent specific problem behav3 iors such as substance use, violence, bullying, 

4 and school failure, and to promote positive be5 haviors in class, school, and community activi6 ties; and 

7 (D) establish safe, caring, learning envi8 ronments that foster student participation, en9 gagement, and connection to learning and 

10 school. 

11 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

12 the several States of the United States, the District 

13 of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 

14 SEC. 106. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

15 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

16 this title— 

17 (1) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 to carry out 

18 section 102; 

19 (2) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 of which— 

20 (A) 5 percent shall be reserved to carry out 

21 section 104; 

22 (B) 25 percent shall be reserved for grants 

23 to States under section 103; and 

24 (C) 70 percent for grants to local edu25 cation agencies under section 103; and 


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1 (3) such sums as may be necessary for fiscal 

2 years 2011 through 2014. 

3 TITLE II—ELEMENTARY AND 

4 SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT 

5 AMENDMENTS 

6 SEC. 201. AMENDMENTS TO THE ELEMENTARY AND SEC7 ONDARY EDUCATION ACT. 

8 (a) SCHOOL DROPOUT PREVENTION INITIATIVE.— 

9 Subpart 2 of part H of title I of the Elementary and Sec10 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6561 et seq.) 

11 is amended— 

12 (1) in section 1822(b)(1), by redesignating sub13 paragraphs (H) through (J) as subparagraphs (I) 

14 through (K), respectively, and inserting after sub15 paragraph (G) the following: 

16 ‘‘(H) implementing social and emotional 

17 learning programming;’’; and 

18 (2) in section 1825(2)— 

19 (A) after ‘‘creating alternative school pro20 grams,’’ strike ‘‘and’’; and 

21 (B) strike the period at the end and insert 

22 ‘‘, and implementing social and emotional learn23 ing programming.’’. 

24 (b) TEACHER AND PRINCIPAL TRAINING AND RE25 CRUITING FUND.—Part A of title II is the Elementary 


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1 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6601 

2 et seq.) is amended— 

3 (1) in section 2113(c)(2)— 

4 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub5 paragraph (A); 

6 (B) by striking the period at the end of 

7 subparagraph (B) and insert ‘‘; and’’; and 

8 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(C) train teachers and principals in prac10 tices that have demonstrated effectiveness in 

11 improving student achievement, attainment, 

12 and behavior through addressing the social and 

13 emotional development needs of students such 

14 as through social and emotional learning pro15 gramming.’’; and 

16 (2) in section 2123(a)(3)(B)(iii)— 

17 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of (I); 

18 (B) by redesignating subclause (II) as sub19 clause (III); and 

20 (C) by inserting afer subclause (I) the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(II) addressing the social and 

23 emotional development needs of stu24 dents to improve student achievement 

25 and attainment such as through social 


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1 and emotional learning programming; 

2 and’’. 

3 (c) SAFE AND DRUG-FREE SCHOOLS AND COMMU4 NITIES.—Part A of title IV of the Elementary and Sec5 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) 

6 is amended— 

7 (1) in section 4112— 

8 (A) in subsection (a)(5)(B), by inserting 

9 before the semicolon ‘‘and developing and im10 plementing programming that addresses the so11 cial and emotional development needs of stu12 dents’’; and 

13 (B) in (c)(2)(D)— 

14 (i) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of 

15 clause (ii); 

16 (ii) by redesignating clause (iii) as 

17 clause (iv); and 

18 (iii) by inserting after clause (ii) the 

19 following: 

20 ‘‘(iii) training, technical assistance, 

21 and demonstration projects to foster a safe 

22 and drug-free learning environment by ad23 dressing the social and emotional develop24 ment needs of students through social and 

25 emotional learning programming; and’’; 


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1 (2) in section 4114(d)(7)— 

2 (A) in subparagraph (C), by inserting be3 fore the semicolon ‘‘and to promote the positive 

4 social and emotional development of students’’; 

5 and 

6 (B) in subparagraph (E)— 

7 (i) by redesignating clauses (iii) 

8 through (v) as clauses (iv) through (vi), re9 spectively; and 

10 (ii) by inserting after clause (ii) the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(iii) promotes the positive social and 

13 emotional development of students;’’; 

14 (3) in section 4115— 

15 (A) in subsection (a)(1)— 

16 (i) by redesignating subparagraphs 

17 (B) through (E) as subparagraphs (C) 

18 through (F), respectively; and 

19 (ii) by inserting after subparagraph 

20 (A) the following: 

21 ‘‘(B) consider the social and emotional de22 velopment needs of the students;’’; and 

23 (B) in subsection (b)— 

24 (i) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting 

25 before the semicolon the following: ‘‘and 


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1 promotes the positive social and emotional 

2 development of students’’; 

3 (ii) in paragraph (2)(A)— 

4 (I) by redesignating clauses (iii) 

5 through (vii) as clauses (iv) through 

6 (viii), respectively; and 

7 (II) by inserting after clause (ii) 

8 the following: 

9 ‘‘(iii) promote the positive social and 

10 emotional development of students, such as 

11 through social and emotional learning pro12 gramming;’’; and 

13 (iii) in paragraph (2)(E)— 

14 (I) by redesignating clauses (vii) 

15 through (xxii) as clauses (viii) through 

16 (xxiii), respectively; and 

17 (II) by inserting after clause (vi) 

18 the following: 

19 ‘‘(vii) Social and emotional learning 

20 programming that have proven effective in 

21 addressing the academic, social and emo22 tional development needs of students and 

23 in creating safe and drug free learning en24 vironments.’’; and 

25 (4) in section 4121(a)(2)— 


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1 (A) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

2 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

3 (B) in subparagraph (D), by adding ‘‘and’’ 

4 at the end; and 

5 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(E) social and emotional learning pro7 gramming that have proven effective in address8 ing the academic, social, and emotional develop9 ment needs of students and in creating safe and 

10 drug-free learning environments;’’. 

Æ 


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