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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Academic, Social, and 
Emotional Learning Act of 2009’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) To succeed in school, students need to be 
engaged. They need to know how to maintain focus 
and effort in the face of setbacks, work effectively 
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with others, and be good communicators and prob-
lem-solvers. 
(2) Social and emotional skills form a founda-
tion for young people’s success not just in school, 
but as healthy and caring adults, productive work-
ers, and engaged citizens. 
(3) Not only can these skills be taught, they 
can be taught by regular classroom teachers in 
schools of every type to students of every back-
ground. 
(4) Academic outcomes resulting from social 
and emotional learning include greater motivation to 
learn and commitment to school, increased time de-
voted to schoolwork and mastery of subject matter, 
improved attendance, graduation rates, grades, and 
test scores. 
(5) These positive outcomes increase in stu-
dents who are involved in social and emotional learn-
ing programming by an average of 11 percentile 
points over students who are not involved in such 
programming. 
(6) Social and emotional learning programming 
also results in reduced problem behavior, improved 
health outcomes, a lower rate of violent delinquency, 
and a lower rate of heavy alcohol use. 
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TITLE I—GRANTS TO SUPPORT 
EVIDENCE-BASED 
SOCIAL 
AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING 
PROGRAMMING 
SEC. 101. PURPOSE. 
The purpose of this title is to advance student 
achievement, attainment, and social and emotional devel-
opment by establishing Federal grant programs to support 
social and emotional learning programming in elementary 
and secondary schools. 
SEC. 102. NATIONAL TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSIST-
ANCE CENTER. 
(a) GRANT AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary is author-
ized to award a grant to establish a National Technical 
Assistance and Training Center for Social and Emotional 
Learning that provides training and technical assistance 
to States, local educational agencies, and community- 
based organizations to identify, promote, and support evi-
dence-based social and emotional learning programming in 
elementary and secondary schools. 
(b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Grant funds provided 
under this section shall be used— 
(1) to provide technical assistance to States, 
local educational agencies, and community-based or-
ganizations on the effective implementation of social 
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(2) providing technical assistance to States, 
local educational agencies, and community-based or-
ganizations that are developing and implementing 
social and emotional learning standards and pro-
gramming; 
(3) providing high-quality professional develop-
ment to local educational agency and school per-
sonnel in social and emotional learning standards 
and programming; 
(4) conducting, analyzing, and disseminating 
research on social and emotional development and 
learning; and 
(5) evaluating social and emotional learning 
standards and programming. 
(d) APPLICATION.—Applications shall be submitted 
at such time and in such manner as the Secretary deter-
mines. Applications shall include a description of how the 
grantee— 
(1) will use funds consistent with subsection 
(b); and 
(2) meets the eligibility requirements described 
in subsection (c). 
(e) DURATION OF GRANT.—The grant under this sec-
tion shall be awarded for 5 years. 
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(f) REPORT TO SECRETARY.—The grantee shall re-
port any information the Secretary deems appropriate at 
such a time and in such manner as the Secretary shall 
require. 
SEC. 103. GRANTS TO STATES AND LOCAL EDUCATIONAL 
AGENCIES. 
(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary is author-
ized to award competitive grants to States and local edu-
cational agencies to work with the National Technical As-
sistance and Training Center for Social and Emotional 
Learning to develop and implement evidence-based social 
and emotional learning standards and programming in ele-
mentary schools and secondary schools. 
(b) USES OF FUNDS FOR STATES.— 
(1) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—In the case of a 
State that receives a grant under this section, the 
State shall carry out the following activities: 
(A) Create a State social and emotional 
learning leadership team consisting of, at a 
minimum, a representative from the State edu-
cation agency, a school administrator, an educa-
tor, a parent, a representative from an institu-
tion of higher education in the State, and a co-
ordinator for mental health or pupil support 
services to guide the planning, implementation, 
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and monitoring of social and emotional learning 
programming. 
(B) Develop a State plan outlining policies, 
standards, or guidelines to support the imple-
mentation of evidence-based social and emo-
tional learning programming in local edu-
cational agencies. 
(C) Develop a statewide high-quality pro-
fessional development framework and student 
assessment system for State agency staff, 
school administrators, teachers, and paraprofes-
sionals to implement and assess social and emo-
tional learning. 
(D) Disseminate information to educators 
and the public about advances in research, 
practices, and policies that foster the social, 
emotional, and academic growth of students. 
(E) Engage families and communities in 
the social and emotional learning of students 
served. 
(2) ALLOWABLE ACTIVITIES.—In the case of a 
State that receives a grant under this section, the 
State may carry out the following activities: 
(A) Establish a plan and provide competi-
tive subgrants to local education agencies to 
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plan, implement, and evaluate sustainable social 
and emotional learning programming. 
(B) Explore the development of public-pri-
vate partnerships to fund and support quality 
implementation and assessment of evidence- 
based social and emotional learning. 
(c) USES OF FUNDS FOR LOCAL EDUCATION AGEN-
CIES.—In the case of a local educational agency that re-
ceives a grant under this section, the local educational 
agency shall carry out the following activities: 
(1) Create district and or school social and 
emotional learning coordinator(s) and coaches who 
work with planning teams to plan, implement, evalu-
ate, and monitor evidence-based social and emotional 
learning programming. 
(2) Develop district- and school-level policies 
and plans to support the implementation, and eval-
uation of school-wide, evidence-based social and emo-
tional learning programming. 
(3) Provide ongoing high-quality professional 
development and on-site coaching to school adminis-
trators, teachers, and paraprofessionals who imple-
ment and assess evidence-based social and emotional 
learning. 
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(4) Engage families and communities in the so-
cial and emotional development and learning of stu-
dents served. 
(5) Provide resources and supports such as 
planning time, materials, and training sites for 
school personnel that implement and assess evi-
dence-based social and emotional learning. 
(6) Monitor program implementation and assess 
student progress in social and emotional learning 
over time. 
(7) Disseminate relevant research and informa-
tion on social and emotional development and learn-
ing. 
(d) APPLICATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Applications shall be sub-
mitted at such time and in such manner as the Sec-
retary determines. 
(2) STATE APPLICATION CONTENTS.—A State 
application shall— 
(A) describe how the State will implement 
the required activities described in subsection 
(b)(1); 
(B) describe how the State will work with 
the National Training and Technical Assistance 
Center; 
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(C) describe how the State will provide on-
going support to local education agencies to en-
sure effective implementation of evidence-based 
social and emotional learning standards and 
programming; and 
(D) describe benchmarks of success for the 
State initiative. 
(3) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY APPLICATION 
CONTENTS.—A local education agency application 
shall— 
(A) describe how the local education agen-
cy will implement the activities described in 
subsection (c); 
(B) describe how the local education agen-
cy will work with the National Training and 
Technical Assistance Center; 
(C) describe how the local education agen-
cy will work with the State to support evidence- 
based social and emotional learning program-
ming and ensure the ongoing support of the 
local educational agency and school leader in 
schools where the grant is implemented; and 
(D) describe benchmarks of success for the 
local educational agency initiative. 
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