Читать книгу Essentials of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) - Donna Lord Black - Страница 52

In May 2018, just two and a half months after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, another school shooting occurred at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas. In response to this devastating act of violence, Texas Governor Greg Abbott convened a series of roundtable discussions to investigate possible solutions for improving school safety (State of Texas, 2018). Following the roundtable discussions, the governor released a school safety action plan (Abbott, 2018) that laid the foundation for school safety legislation.

Like the Florida legislation discussed in Rapid Reference 2.4, the Texas legislation contained some similarities. For example, Texas’ schools were required to implement hardening of school properties and hiring of school law officers. However, the Texas legislation differed in several aspects. Not only did it incorporate many of the components identified in the school climate research, but also it included SEL language. It required schools to implement a systemic and coordinated multi‐tiered system that addressed school climate and the social, emotional, behavioral, and mental health needs of students. It also required schools in Texas to develop and implement threat assessment teams and to refer students for mental assessment when threat assessment indicated a need. In addition, teachers in Texas were required to receive continuing education each year in recognizing how grief and trauma affect student learning and behavior and how trauma‐informed strategies can support the academic success of students impacted by trauma or grief. The policy also required Texas’ schools to offer, as part of the physical health curriculum, instruction in mental health conditions, substance abuse, suicide prevention, and social‐emotional skills such as managing emotions, responsible decision making, and establishing and maintaining positive relationships. Lastly, the policy required schools to incorporate instruction in digital citizenship, including information regarding potential criminal consequences of cyberbullying (Texas School Safety Act, SB 11, 2019). The legislation also directed the Texas commissioner of education to develop rules for implementing many of these provisions.

In response to these school safety policies, or perhaps in preparation for the pending requirements, many schools and districts in the state subsequently created district‐level SEL leadership positions and began developing comprehensive SEL programs and supports. As a result, excitement for SEL increased, and SEL implementation efforts began emerging in schools and districts across the state. Although the Texas legislation fell short of requiring the state education agency to develop instructional standards for social and emotional learning, advocates for SEL believed the bill provided the momentum that would be needed for advancing SEL in the state.

Given the school safety concerns, school leaders are recognizing that school culture and climate are fundamental to implementing sustainable SEL. In addition, there is widespread agreement on the importance of defragmenting the traditional approach to educating young people. Using a multi‐tiered systems of support (MTSS) framework, schools are beginning to employ a “whole child” approach for identifying student supports, including supports for social, emotional, and character development.