,,ii  #aadth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #hig  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the
 ,,united ,,states  ,april #ac1 #bjae   
,mr4 ,blumenthal 7for himself and ,mr4  
,murphy7 introduced the following bill2 
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,health1 ,education1     
,labor1 and ,pensions  ,a ,,bill  ,to   
support evidence-based social and       
emotional learning programming4  #a4    
,short title  ,this ,act may be cited as
 the ,jesse ,lewis ,empowering          
,educators ,act4  #b4 ,findings         
,congress makes the following findings3 
7#a7 ,to succeed in school1 students    
need to be engaged4 ,they need to know  
how to maintain focus and effort in the 
face of setbacks1 work effectively with 
others1 and be good communicators and   
problem-solvers4  7#b7 ,social and      
emotional skills form a foundation for  
young people's success not just in      
school1 but as healthy and caring       
adults1 productive workers1 and engaged 
citizens4  7#c7 ,not only can these     

skills be taught1 they can be taught in 
schools of every type to students of    
every background by regular classroom   
teachers who receive adequate training  
on methods for developing their own     
social and emotional learning skills and
 integrating social and emotional       
learning into the standard curriculum4  
7#d7 ,academic outcomes resulting from  
social and emotional learning include   
greater motivation to learn and         
commitment to school1 increased time    
devoted to schoolwork and mastery of    
subject matter1 and improved attendance1
 graduation rates1 grades1 and test     
scores4  7#e7 ,these positive outcomes  
increase in students who are involved in
 social and emotional learning          
programming by an average of #aa        
percentile points over students who are 
not involved in such programming4  7#f7 
,social and emotional learning          
programming also results in reduced     
problem behavior1 improved health       
outcomes1 a lower rate of violent       

delinquency1 and a lower rate of heavy  
alcohol use4  #c4 ,amendments to the    
,elementary and ,secondary ,education   
,act of #aife  7a7 ,teacher and         
principal training and recruiting fund  
,part ,a of title ,,ii of the           
,elementary and ,secondary ,education   
,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ffja et   
seq47 is amended--  7#a7 in section     
#baac7;c77#b7-- 7,a7 in subparagraph    
7,a71 by striking and after the         
semicolon2  7,b7 in subparagraph 7,b71  
by striking the period at the end and   
inserting 2 and2 and  7,c7 by adding at 
the end the following3  7,c7 train      
teachers and principals in practices    
that have demonstrated effectiveness in 
improving student achievement1          
attainment1 and behavior through        
addressing the social and emotional     
development needs of students1 such as  
through social and emotional learning   
programming4  2 and  7#b7 in section    
#babc7;a77#c77;,b77iii7-- 7,a7 in       
subclause 7,i71 by striking and after   

the semicolon2  7,b7 by redesignating   
subclause 7,,ii7 as subclause 7,,iii72  
and  7,c7 by inserting after subclause  
7,i7 the following3  7,,ii7 addressing  
the social and emotional development    
needs of students to improve student    
achievement and attainment1 such as     
through social and emotional learning   
programming2 and  4  7b7 ,definitions   
,section #iaja of the ,elementary and   
,secondary ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj
 ,u4,s4,c4 #ghja7 is amended-- 7#a7 by  
redesignating the undesignated paragraph
 following paragraph 7#ci7 and          
paragraphs 7#da7 through 7#dc7 as       
paragraphs 7#db7 through 7#de71         
respectively2 and  7#b7 by inserting    
after paragraph 7#ci7 the following3    
7#dj7 ,social and emotional learning    
,the term social and emotional learning 
means the process through which children
 and adults acquire the knowledge1      
attitudes1 and skills associated with   
the core areas of social and emotional  
competency1 including--  7,a7           

self-awareness and self-management to   
achieve school and life success1 such   
as-- 7i7 identifying and recognizing    
strengths1 needs1 emotions1 values1 and 
self-efficacy2  7ii7 emotion regulation1
 including impulse control and stress   
management2  7iii7 self-motivation and  
discipline2 and  7iv7 goal setting and  
organizational skills2  7,b7 social     
awareness and interpersonal skills to   
establish and maintain positive         
relationships1 such as perspective      
taking and respect for others1          
communication1 working cooperatively1   
negotiation1 conflict management1 and   
help-seeking2 and  7,c7 decisionmaking  
skills and responsible behaviors in     
personal1 academic1 and community       
contexts1 such as situational analysis1 
problem solving1 reflection1 and        
personal1 social1 and ethical           
responsibility4  7#da7 ,social and      
emotional learning programming ,the term
 social and emotional learning          
programming refers to evidence-based    

classroom instruction and schoolwide    
activities and initiatives that-- 7,a7  
integrate social and emotional learning 
into the school curriculum2  7,b7       
provide systematic instruction whereby  
social and emotional skills are taught1 
modeled1 practiced1 and applied so that 
students use the skills as part of the  
students' daily behavior2  7,c7 teach   
students to apply social and emotional  
skills to-- 7i7 prevent specific problem
 behaviors such as substance use1       
violence1 bullying1 and school failure2 
and  7ii7 promote positive behaviors in 
class1 school1 and community activities2
 and  7,d7 establish safe and caring    
learning environments that foster       
student participation1 engagement1 and  
connection to learning and school4  4