[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2437 Introduced in House (IH)]
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2437
To support evidence-based social and emotional learning programming.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 7, 2011
Mrs. Biggert (for herself, Mr. Kildee, and Mr. Ryan of Ohio) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education
and the Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To support evidence-based social and emotional learning programming.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 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 2011''.
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 with others, and be good
communicators and problem-solvers.
(2) Social and emotional skills form a foundation for young
people's success not just in school, but as healthy and caring
adults, productive workers, 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 background.
(4) Academic outcomes resulting from social and emotional
learning include greater motivation to learn and commitment to
school, increased time devoted to schoolwork and mastery of
subject matter, improved attendance, graduation rates, grades,
and test scores.
(5) These positive outcomes increase in students who are
involved in social and emotional learning 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.
SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT.
(a) Teacher and Principal Training and Recruiting Fund.--Part A of
title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 6601 et seq.) is amended--
(1) in section 2113(c)(2)--
(A) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph
(A);
(B) by striking the period at the end of
subparagraph (B) and insert ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) train teachers and principals in practices
that have demonstrated effectiveness in improving
student achievement, attainment, and behavior through
addressing the social and emotional development needs
of students, such as through social and emotional
learning programming.''; and
(2) in section 2123(a)(3)(B)(iii)--
(A) by striking ``and'' at the end of (I);
(B) by redesignating subclause (II) as subclause
(III); and
(C) by inserting after subclause (I) the following:
``(II) addressing the social and
emotional development needs of students
to improve student achievement and
attainment, such as through social and
emotional learning programming; and''.
(b) Definitions.--Section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
``(44) Social and emotional learning.--The term `social and
emotional learning' means the process through which children
and adults acquire the knowledge, attitudes, and skills
associated with the core areas of social and emotional
competency, including--
``(A) self-awareness and self-management to achieve
school and life success, such as identifying and
recognizing strengths, needs, emotions, values and
self-efficacy, impulse control and stress management,
self-motivation and discipline, and goal setting and
organizational skills;
``(B) social awareness and interpersonal skills to
establish and maintain positive relationships, such as
perspective taking and respect for others,
communication, working cooperatively, negotiation,
conflict management, and help seeking; and
``(C) decisionmaking skills and responsible
behaviors in personal, academic and community contexts,
such as situational analysis, problem solving,
reflection and personal, and social and ethical
responsibility.
``(45) Social and emotional learning programming.--The term
`social and emotional learning programming' refers to classroom
instruction and schoolwide activities and initiatives that--
``(A) integrate social and emotional learning into
school curriculum;
``(B) provide systematic instruction whereby social
and emotional skills are taught, modeled, practiced,
and applied so that students use them as part of their
daily behavior;
``(C) teach children to apply social and emotional
skills to prevent specific problem behaviors such as
substance use, violence, bullying, and school failure,
and to promote positive behaviors in class, school, and
community activities; and
``(D) establish safe and caring learning
environments that foster student participation,
engagement, and connection to learning and school.''.
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