This study, conducted by CASEL and RAND, updates estimates of SEL implementation across K-12 public schools nationwide for the 2023-2024 school year, and finds a steady increase in implementation since 2017-2018. For the first time, these data also include components of implementation that go beyond formal SEL programming. We further investigate whether states’ SEL policies are associated with the implementation of SEL by K–12 schools, and whether SEL implementation is correlated with teachers’ reports of supportive climate and student interest in learning. The combination of our findings and prior research establishing the positive effects of SEL points policymakers at the state and local levels toward encouraging SEL implementation through strategic plans, adoption of standards, dedicated funding, and school climate efforts.
Key Takeaways:
- More schools across the United States are incorporating social and emotional learning (SEL) into students’ educational experiences, and nearly all U.S. states have policies that support SEL in schools.
- A greater proportion of K–12 schools are delivering instruction to children about social and emotional competencies. By the 2023–2024 school year, 83 percent of school principals reported that their schools used a SEL curriculum, up from 76 percent in the 2021–2022 school year.
- Forty-nine U.S. states (and the District of Columbia) have at least one supportive policy or condition that actively promotes SEL in schools.
- Principals and teachers working in states with more supportive SEL policies and conditions are more likely to report SEL implementation in their schools.
- Principal-reported spending on SEL programs, practices, and professional learning is associated with a wide array of high-quality implementation efforts.
- Teachers who instruct their students in SEL are more likely to report that their schools have positive cli- mates and that students are interested in learning.