From Response to Reopening: State Efforts to Elevate Social and Emotional Learning during the Pandemic

Schools have drastically changed the way that staff, students, families, and communities engage with one another due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As schools begin planning education for fall, states are in the process of developing guidance and support for districts and schools to navigate students' and adults' academic, social, emotional, and physical health, particularly for those most vulnerable and disenfranchised from the system. While the plans vary in approach and decision points, one thing is clear: student and adult social and emotional well-being and relationships are central to each decision point. This brief focuses on those social and emotional learning (SEL)-related policy actions, providing concrete recommendations based on state examples about ways to support student and adult social and emotional competencies, which are needed now more than ever as we navigate a global pandemic and social unrest.