Colorado did not create standalone K-12 SEL standards. Colorado did something arguably more effective: it made Social and Emotional Wellness a named, standalone standard within the Colorado Academic Standards for Comprehensive Health, which are mandatory under state law. Social-emotional instruction in Colorado is not a supplementary framework or a recommended guideline. It is an academic standard with the same structural weight as drug prevention, safety, healthy eating, and violence prevention.[1]
Standard 3 of the Colorado Academic Standards for Comprehensive Health is titled “Social and Emotional Wellness.” It requires students to “recognize and manage emotions, develop care and concern for others, establish positive relationships, make responsible decisions, handle challenging situations constructively, resolve conflicts respectfully, manage stress, and make ethical and safe choices.”[1]
The Colorado General Assembly further strengthened this framework in 2019 by passing HB 19-1120, which directed the State Board of Education to adopt standards identifying the knowledge and skills that students should acquire related to mental health, including suicide prevention.[2]
The Social and Emotional Wellness Standard
Standard 3: What It Requires
Six Standards — Mandatory Under State Law
Healthy Eating
Healthy Relationships & Sexual Health
Social & Emotional Wellness
← SEL Standard
Health Promotion
Drug Prevention
Violence Prevention & Safety
Standard 3 Requires Students To:
Recognize and manage emotions
Develop care and concern for others
Establish positive relationships
Make responsible decisions
Handle challenging situations constructively
Resolve conflicts respectfully
Manage stress
Make ethical and safe choices
Grade-Level Expectations for Elementary
Preschool – Grade 2
- •Identify emotions and healthy ways to express them
- •Recognize qualities that make each person unique
- •Demonstrate self-control strategies
- •Identify trusted adults
- •Practice communication skills
Grades 3–5
- •Apply strategies for managing emotions
- •Recognize causes of stress and use management techniques
- •Describe how to prevent and resolve conflicts
- •Demonstrate decision-making skills for mental health
- •Identify how empathy contributes to positive relationships
How Standard 3 Maps to CASEL
| Standard 3 Content | CASEL Competency |
|---|---|
| Recognize emotions, identify personal qualities | Self-Awareness |
| Manage emotions, self-control, stress management, goal setting | Self-Management |
| Care and concern for others, empathy | Social Awareness |
| Positive relationships, conflict resolution, communication | Relationship Skills |
| Responsible decisions, ethical and safe choices | Responsible Decision-Making |
A CASEL-aligned curriculum addresses Standard 3 directly because the standard's content mirrors the five CASEL competencies.
The Comprehensive Health Education Statute
What the Law Requires
C.R.S. § 22-25-104(3)
Comprehensive health education is “a planned, sequential health program of learning experiences in preschool, kindergarten, and grades one through twelve” that must include social and emotional wellness among its content areas.[3]
The statute establishes that comprehensive health education is not an elective or an optional enrichment program. It is a planned, sequential program that begins in preschool and extends through grade 12, with social and emotional wellness as a required component.
Youth Mental Health Education and Suicide Prevention
HB 19-1120
The Colorado General Assembly directed the State Board of Education to adopt, on or before July 1, 2020, standards that identify the knowledge and skills that an elementary through secondary education student should acquire related to mental health, including suicide prevention.[2]
Mental health education and social-emotional instruction are complementary. Students who learn about mental health (knowledge) also need the skills to manage their own emotional health (practice). Standard 3's requirement that students “recognize and manage emotions, manage stress, and identify common mental and emotional health problems” bridges both the knowledge and skill dimensions.[1]
The Claire Davis School Safety Act
Liability for Foreseeable Harm
The Claire Davis School Safety Act (C.R.S. 24-10-106.3) imposes a limited waiver of sovereign immunity on schools that fail to exercise “reasonable care” to protect students, faculty, and staff from “reasonably foreseeable” acts of violence on campus or at school-sponsored activities.[5]
This act creates a legal incentive for prevention-oriented programming. Schools that implement structured social-emotional instruction are building students' capacity for conflict resolution, emotional regulation, communication, and responsible decision-making — all of which reduce the likelihood of violence. A school that can demonstrate a systematic approach is in a stronger legal position.
MTSS, PBIS, and the Office of Learning Supports
CDE's Office of Learning Supports provides technical assistance related to Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS), Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), and bully prevention education. CDE explicitly states that “the social and emotional climate of a school can impact student engagement in school activities; relationships with other students, staff, family and community; and academic performance.”[6]
Tier 3
Intensive Intervention
Tier 2
Targeted Support
Tier 1 — Universal SEL (Standard 3)
Structured curriculum for all students
For elementary schools, structured social-emotional instruction functions as Tier 1 universal support within MTSS. A 40-week curriculum covering all five CASEL competencies serves as the instructional foundation that reduces demand on Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions.
CDE SEL Professional Development
8-week online course for developing SEL plans and instruction
On-demand SEL training modules
Social/emotional/behavioral trainings available by request
RWC Module: Social Emotional Health and Learning
CDE's investment in SEL professional development signals that the department considers social-emotional instruction a core educational competency, not a peripheral program.[7]
How to Align Your Elementary Program With Colorado's Standards
Address Standard 3
Social and Emotional Wellness is a Colorado Academic Standard. Document how your curriculum addresses its grade-level expectations. A CASEL-aligned curriculum maps directly to Standard 3.
Satisfy the Mental Health Education Mandate
HB 19-1120 requires mental health content at every grade level. A comprehensive scope and sequence across 40 weeks provides the sustained instruction the mental health mandate envisions.
Connect to Violence Prevention
Standard 6 and the Claire Davis Act both point toward prevention. Document how your SEL instruction builds emotional regulation, conflict resolution, and responsible decision-making.
Build Your MTSS Tier 1
Your SEL curriculum serves as Tier 1 social-emotional instruction within your MTSS framework. Document how students needing additional support are identified for Tier 2 and Tier 3.
Document the Planned, Sequential Program
The statute requires a “planned, sequential” program. A scope and sequence that demonstrates planned, sequenced instruction with grade-level differentiation satisfies this statutory language.
Communicating With Colorado Parents
Reference the Academic Standard
“Social and Emotional Wellness is Standard 3 of the Colorado Academic Standards for Comprehensive Health. Just like standards for math, reading, and science, health education standards describe what students should know and be able to do. Our program teaches students to manage emotions, build healthy relationships, resolve conflicts, make responsible decisions, and handle stress.”
Connect to Mental Health
“Colorado law requires health education standards that include mental health, including suicide prevention. Our program addresses these requirements by teaching students to recognize and manage their emotions, identify when they or someone else needs help, and communicate with trusted adults.”
Be Concrete
“Students learn to identify and manage their emotions, resolve disagreements peacefully, set and pursue goals, show empathy and kindness, manage stress, persevere through challenges, and make responsible decisions. These are the skills Standard 3 describes.”
Choosing a Curriculum for Colorado Schools
When selecting social-emotional curriculum for your Colorado elementary school, verify that the program:
Addresses Standard 3: Social and Emotional Wellness. The standard requires instruction in emotional recognition and management, empathy, positive relationships, responsible decision-making, conflict resolution, stress management, and ethical choices. A CASEL-aligned curriculum covers all of this.
Satisfies the mental health education mandate. HB 19-1120 requires mental health content at every grade level. Your curriculum should address emotional awareness, stress management, identifying mental health challenges, and help-seeking.
Supports violence prevention. Standard 6 and the Claire Davis Act both create expectations for prevention-oriented programming.
Provides a planned, sequential program. The statute requires it. A full-year scope and sequence providing 40 weeks of sequenced instruction satisfies this statutory language.
Provides grade-band differentiation. Standard 3 builds progressively across grade levels. Programs that provide distinct content for each grade band match this developmental progression.
Functions as an MTSS Tier 1 component. Your curriculum serves as universal social-emotional instruction within the tiered framework.
Requires no devices or student accounts. Device-free, teacher-led programs eliminate data privacy concerns and preserve the shared classroom experience.
Supports bilingual learners. Colorado serves a significant multilingual population. Bilingual curriculum in English and Spanish supports equitable access.
Requires minimal prep. Programs that provide ready-to-use weekly lessons are more likely to be implemented consistently.
What to Avoid
Treating Standard 3 as less important than other health standards
Social and Emotional Wellness carries the same structural weight as Drug Prevention and Violence Prevention. A school teaching four of six standards and skipping the third is leaving a mandatory standard uncovered.
Ignoring the “planned, sequential” statutory language
Ad hoc approaches, occasional counselor lessons, and reactive responses do not constitute a planned, sequential program. A curriculum with a scope and sequence satisfies this language. Random activities do not.
Separating mental health education from social-emotional skills
Mental health knowledge and social-emotional skills work together. A curriculum that teaches both knowledge and skills in an integrated way addresses both HB 19-1120 and Standard 3 simultaneously.
Underestimating the Claire Davis Act
The Act imposes liability on schools that fail to exercise reasonable care to prevent foreseeable violence. A school demonstrating a systematic, evidence-based approach to teaching conflict resolution and emotional regulation is in a stronger legal position.
Final Thoughts
Colorado embedded social-emotional learning directly into its mandatory comprehensive health education framework as Standard 3: Social and Emotional Wellness. The General Assembly mandated mental health education standards including suicide prevention. The statute requires a “planned, sequential” health education program from preschool through grade 12. The Claire Davis Act creates liability for schools that fail to prevent foreseeable violence. And CDE provides extensive SEL professional development and MTSS guidance.
Colorado did not create separate SEL standards. It did something more durable: it made social-emotional wellness an academic standard within a mandatory framework. Standard 3 sits alongside Drug Prevention, Violence Prevention, and Healthy Eating. It has the same authority. It requires the same instructional attention.
For Colorado elementary schools, the path forward is practical: choose a program that addresses Standard 3's grade-level expectations, satisfies the mental health education mandate, provides the “planned, sequential” instruction the statute requires, and delivers structured social-emotional instruction to every student, every week, all year. Standard 3 is not optional. It is an academic standard. Teach it like one.
References
- Colorado Department of Education. 2020 Colorado Academic Standards: Comprehensive Health Standards Introduction. ed.cde.state.co.us
- Colorado General Assembly. HB 19-1120: Youth Mental Health Education and Suicide Prevention. leg.colorado.gov
- Colorado Department of Education. State Funded Comprehensive Health Education. ed.cde.state.co.us
- Colorado Department of Education. Comprehensive Health Standards by Prepared Graduate Statements. cde.state.co.us
- Colorado Office of School Safety. Claire Davis School Safety Act. oss.colorado.gov
- Colorado Department of Education. WSCC Component Resources: Social and Emotional Climate. ed.cde.state.co.us
- Colorado Department of Education. RWC Module: Social Emotional Health and Learning. ed.cde.state.co.us
- Colorado Department of Education. How Schools Can Implement Systems That Foster SEL for Students. ed.cde.state.co.us
- Colorado Department of Education. Comprehensive Health. ed.cde.state.co.us
- Durlak, J. A., et al. (2011). The impact of enhancing students' social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis. Child Development, 82(1), 405-432. doi.org
- Cipriano, C., et al. (2023). The state of evidence for social and emotional learning. Child Development, 94(5), 1181-1204. doi.org
Social-Emotional Learning for Colorado Schools
Be The Buffalo addresses Standard 3: Social and Emotional Wellness directly. 40 weeks of K-5 curriculum covering emotional regulation, conflict resolution, decision-making, goal setting, empathy, self-awareness, relationship skills, and stress management. Interactive projector activities, original songs, stories, printable worksheets, and teacher guides. Bilingual English and Spanish. No student accounts. No devices. No prep. A planned, sequential program that satisfies the statutory requirement.
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