This brief presents key findings that capture the current landscape of state SEL policy and showcase the increasing emphasis on SEL.
The purpose of CASEL’s State Scan is to track the development of competencies (also called standards, benchmarks, or learning goals) and guidance (also called resources and tools) that support social and emotional learning (SEL). Developing competencies and guidance are two foundational efforts at the state level in the process of supporting high-quality, systemic SEL in schools. These policy efforts align with CASEL’s five core SEL competencies, which have guided the field for over two decades. Since 2011, CASEL has completed state scans approximately every two years to monitor the extent to which states have developed these foundational policy efforts for SEL. Although each CASEL State Scan individually provides a snapshot of the SEL landscape at a given time, they collectively illustrate the advancement of SEL policies throughout the country. This current scan focuses on the prominence and momentum of SEL competencies and guidance across the United States today.
