Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
Agency
Department of Education
 
Board
State Board of Education
 
Guidance Document Change: The 2020 Virginia General Assembly passed House Bill 753 directing the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) to develop guidance standards for social emotional learning (SEL) for all public students in grades Kindergarten through 12 in the Commonwealth. The Virginia Social Emotional Learning Standards were developed in collaboration with an SEL Advisory Committee, composed of educators, community leaders, agency personnel, and parents. The Virginia SEL Standards are aligned with the Profile of a Virginia Graduate and centered in equity. This intentional focus allows the Standards to explicitly teach the skills needed to be “life ready” and to create more equitable learning environments.
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5/26/21  10:34 am
Commenter: Virginia School Psychologist

SEL is Critically Important
 

It is the responsibility of the school system to teach children and produce individuals that will become productive members of society. This includes teaching students academics, but it also includes teaching children important “life skills” like how to manage their emotions, interact with others, and support both themselves and others. These characteristics are integral to SEL and are supported by the standards included in the VDOE SEL document.

In addition to the school’s moral imperative to impart life skills to students, SEL is evidence-based. Research has produced evidence that SEL increases prosocial behaviors, academic performance, and the likelihood of graduating high school and attending college. It has also shown that it reduces conduct problems, internalizing difficulties (such as depressed or anxious moods), and the likelihood of emotional distress or drug use.

I support the Virginia SEL Standards and believe that they are of the utmost importance. Although I do have questions about the funding for integrating these standards, the support that VDOE will give teachers (who carry increasingly heavy loads in order to support their student), and how schools will be held accountable for teaching SEL, I believe that the skills that these standards support will help to develop well-rounded, thoughtful, and kind individuals.

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