Connecticut has done more to build statewide SEL infrastructure than most people realize. The state defines social-emotional learning in statute. It has a K-12 Social, Emotional, and Intellectual Habits framework approved by the State Board of Education in 2023. It created a 33-member Social and Emotional Learning and School Climate Advisory Collaborative through legislation. It provides a free statewide SEL assessment (the DESSA) to all K-12 schools. It requires school climate improvement plans with biennial surveys. And it mandates that every teacher preparation candidate complete training in school violence, bullying, suicide prevention, and conflict resolution.
Connecticut does not use the words “SEL mandate.” What it has done is build a system where SEL is defined in law, assessed by a state-provided tool, governed by a legislatively created collaborative, taught through a State Board-approved framework, and embedded in school climate improvement requirements. The practical effect is that Connecticut schools are expected to deliver social-emotional learning. The infrastructure leaves little room for the argument that it is optional.
Connecticut's SEL Infrastructure Timeline
K-3 SEIH Framework Adopted
State Board of Education approves Components of Social, Emotional, and Intellectual Habits for kindergarten through grade 3.
PA 19-166 Signed
Governor Lamont signs An Act Concerning School Climates, creating the 33-member SEL and School Climate Advisory Collaborative.
Statewide DESSA Launched
CSDE partners with Aperture Education to provide the DESSA assessment to all K-12 schools at no cost.
K-12 Framework Expansion
State Board approves the full K-12 Social, Emotional, and Intellectual Habits framework following the 2021 landscape survey.
Biennial Climate Survey Required
Every school's climate committee must administer the biennial school climate survey beginning in the 2025-26 school year.
Connecticut's Statutory Definition of SEL
Written Into Law
Connecticut General Statutes § 10-222aa(12) defines social-emotional learning as: “the process through which children and adults achieve emotional intelligence through the competencies of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making.”[1]
This is a legislative definition, not an agency guideline. The General Assembly defined SEL in statute, using the five CASEL competencies by name. Every other SEL-related policy, framework, and program in Connecticut operates within this definition.
The Social, Emotional, and Intellectual Habits Framework
K-3 Framework (2018) and K-12 Expansion (2023)
The Components of Social, Emotional, and Intellectual Habits was initially developed for kindergarten through grade 3 and adopted in 2018. Following a statewide landscape survey in 2021, where districts overwhelmingly expressed the desire for SEL integration into academic instruction beyond grade 3, the CSDE developed the grades 4-12 expansion. The full K-12 framework was approved by the State Board of Education in 2023.[2]
The framework describes the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that form an essential blueprint for social-emotional habits and academic success. Its stated purpose is to provide a model for integrating social and emotional habits into academic content areas so that students will learn, practice, and model essential personal life habits.[2]
What the Framework Includes
Self-Awareness
- •Sense of self as competent and capable
- •Positive attitude toward learning
- •Sense of self as a learner
- •Curiosity and initiative
Social Awareness & Interpersonal Skills
- •Identify and understand emotions
- •Empathy
- •Develop positive relationships
Responsible Decision-Making & Problem Solving
- •Conflict resolution
- •Problem-solving skills
Self-Management
- •Executive functioning skills
- •Working memory and metacognition
- •Cognitive flexibility
- •Manage attention and behavior
The addition of intellectual habits (executive functioning, cognitive flexibility, metacognition) alongside social-emotional competencies reflects Connecticut's approach: social-emotional skills and cognitive skills are not separate categories but interconnected habits that together support academic and personal success.[2]
Subject Area Connections
The CSDE developed K-3 Subject Area Connections documents showing how the Social, Emotional, and Intellectual Habits integrate into ELA, math, science, and social studies instruction. These crosswalk documents demonstrate that SEL is not intended to be a standalone program but a set of skills woven into academic content.[3] For elementary schools, this means Connecticut expects SEL to be integrated across the curriculum, with explicit instruction in social-emotional skills complementing the natural opportunities for practice that academic instruction provides.
The SEL and School Climate Advisory Collaborative
Public Act 19-166: A Legislative Structure
In 2019, Governor Lamont signed Public Act 19-166, “An Act Concerning School Climates,” which created a 33-member Social and Emotional Learning and School Climate Advisory Collaborative. The Collaborative's statutory responsibilities include:[4]
Collect information on school climate improvement efforts
Document needs for technical assistance and training
Identify best practices for positive school climates
Direct resources to support statewide and local SEL initiatives
Develop biennial statewide school climate survey
Develop model positive school climate policy
The Collaborative's mandate to “improve access to social and emotional learning in schools” is a legislative direction. The General Assembly created a permanent body responsible for ensuring SEL reaches students.
School Climate Improvement Plans
Required for Every School
Connecticut requires school climate improvement plans that must align with Connecticut school climate standards. These plans must use “school-wide instructional practices and relational practices that prevent, identify and respond to challenging behavior.” Beginning in the 2025-26 school year, every school's school climate committee must administer a biennial school climate survey.[5]
The school climate improvement plans and surveys create a documented cycle of assessment and action. Schools must identify their climate needs, develop plans to address them, and measure progress. Social-emotional instruction is a core strategy for improving the climate outcomes these plans target.
The Statewide DESSA Assessment
Free SEL Screening for All K-12 Schools
In 2021, the CSDE announced a partnership with Aperture Education to provide the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA) system to all K-12 schools at no cost. The DESSA is a nationally standardized, norm-referenced, strength-based assessment measuring the positive skills, behaviors, and mindsets necessary for students to thrive, spanning kindergarten through twelfth grade.[6]
The assessment can be completed by educators, students, and parents or guardians. It includes training, access to reporting features, and hundreds of growth strategies and interventions to strengthen social-emotional skills.[6]
Assessment + Instruction = Outcomes
Connecticut providing a free statewide SEL assessment to all schools signals that the state expects districts to measure social-emotional competencies, not just teach them. Assessment without instruction produces data without outcomes. Instruction without assessment produces effort without evidence. The state has provided the assessment tool. The curriculum provides the instruction.
Health Education
Connecticut requires health education for all K-12 students. The Comprehensive Health Instructional Outcomes require instruction in mental health, suicide prevention, substance abuse prevention, and other topics that include social-emotional content. Health education must be delivered by qualified educators and aligned with state frameworks.[7]
Mental health and emotional wellness are required content areas within health education. The connection to SEL is direct: students learning about emotional health through health education are developing the same competencies the Social, Emotional, and Intellectual Habits framework describes.
Teacher Preparation Requirements
Connecticut law requires that any candidate in a teacher preparation program leading to professional certification complete a school violence, bullying, and suicide prevention and conflict resolution component.[1] This means every new teacher entering a Connecticut classroom has received training in conflict resolution and violence/bullying prevention. Providing these teachers with a structured SEL curriculum gives them the vehicle to deliver the skills they have been trained to support.
SRBI: Connecticut's Tiered Framework
Connecticut uses Scientific Research-Based Interventions (SRBI) as its multi-tiered framework. CSDE's Topical Brief 3, “Addressing the Needs of the Whole Child,” addresses social, emotional, behavioral, and physical health alongside academic achievement within the SRBI process.[8]
Tier 3
Intensive Intervention
Tier 2
Targeted Support
Tier 1 — Universal Instruction
Structured SEL curriculum for all students
For elementary schools, structured SEL instruction functions as the Tier 1 universal support within SRBI. A 40-week curriculum covering all five competencies serves as the whole-child Tier 1 instruction that SRBI expects.
Educator Evaluation and SEL
Connecticut's educator evaluation framework provides flexibilities that allow teachers to focus their Student Learning Objectives/Indicators (SLOs/SLIs) on social and emotional learning and overall well-being of students. The CSDE has published guidance on developing and implementing SLOs/SLIs with a focus on SEL.[9] This means Connecticut teachers can make social-emotional outcomes a formal part of their professional evaluation. A school that provides structured SEL curriculum gives teachers both the instructional tool and the measurable outcomes to support SEL-focused evaluation goals.
How to Align Your Elementary Program With Connecticut's Framework
Map to the Social, Emotional, and Intellectual Habits
The State Board-approved K-12 framework provides the components your instruction should address. Document how your curriculum covers self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, relationship skills, responsible decision-making, and the cognitive habits (executive functioning, metacognition) at each elementary grade level. A CASEL-aligned curriculum addresses the social-emotional components directly. A comprehensive scope and sequence across 40 weeks ensures consistent coverage.
Use the DESSA Data
If your school uses the state-provided DESSA assessment, use the data to identify strengths and areas for growth. Your curriculum should address the competencies the DESSA measures. The combination of structured instruction (curriculum) and structured assessment (DESSA) creates a complete system.
Support Your School Climate Improvement Plan
Your school climate improvement plan must address school-wide instructional practices. Social-emotional instruction is a core strategy for improving school climate. Document how your SEL curriculum supports the climate outcomes your plan targets.
Integrate Across Academic Content
The Subject Area Connections documents show how SEL integrates into ELA, math, science, and social studies. Use your SEL curriculum as the explicit instructional component and look for natural integration opportunities in academic instruction throughout the day.
Connect to Health Education
Document how your curriculum addresses the mental health and emotional wellness content within Connecticut's health education requirements. A CASEL-aligned curriculum addresses these topics directly.
Communicating With Connecticut Parents
Reference the Framework and the Law
“Connecticut law defines social-emotional learning as the process through which children and adults develop self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. Our program teaches these skills through structured weekly lessons aligned with the state's K-12 Social, Emotional, and Intellectual Habits framework.”
Connect to School Climate
“Our school is committed to creating a positive, safe learning environment. Social-emotional instruction helps students develop the skills to treat others with respect, resolve conflicts peacefully, manage their emotions, and contribute positively to our school community.”
Be Concrete
“Students learn to identify and manage their emotions, resolve disagreements peacefully, set and pursue goals, show empathy and kindness toward others, persevere through challenges, and make responsible decisions. These are the competencies Connecticut law defines as social-emotional learning.”
Choosing a Curriculum for Connecticut Schools
When selecting social-emotional curriculum for your Connecticut elementary school, verify that the program:
Aligns with the Social, Emotional, and Intellectual Habits framework
The State Board-approved K-12 framework describes the components your instruction should address.
Addresses the five statutory competencies
Connecticut law names self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.
Supports the DESSA assessment
Your curriculum should teach the competencies the DESSA measures. Assessment and instruction should target the same skills.
Supports school climate improvement
Your climate improvement plan requires instructional strategies. Your curriculum should directly support the climate outcomes.
Provides grade-band differentiation
The framework builds progressively. Programs that provide distinct content for each grade band match this developmental progression.
Offers a full-year scope and sequence
Social-emotional habit development requires sustained instruction. 40 weeks of sequenced instruction ensures consistent coverage.
Integrates into academic instruction
The framework calls for SEL integration across content areas. Brief weekly lessons integrate without displacing academic instruction.
Supports evidence-based bullying prevention
Connecticut's school climate legislation requires prevention strategies.
Requires no devices or student accounts
Device-free, teacher-led programs eliminate data privacy concerns.
Supports bilingual learners
Connecticut serves a significant multilingual population. Bilingual curriculum supports equitable access.
Requires minimal prep
Ready-to-use weekly lessons are more likely to be implemented consistently.
What to Avoid
Treating the framework as purely informational
The K-12 SEIH framework was approved by the State Board. The state provides a free assessment. The legislature created an advisory collaborative. School climate plans are required. This is not a state that treats SEL as optional enrichment.
Running assessment without instruction
A school that screens students with the DESSA without providing structured instruction is identifying needs it has no plan to address. Assessment data is useful only when it informs instruction.
Separating school climate from SEL
Connecticut's legislation explicitly links school climate and social-emotional learning. Schools that address climate through discipline policy alone without teaching social-emotional skills are treating symptoms without building capacity.
Ignoring the intellectual habits component
Connecticut's framework deliberately includes cognitive habits alongside social-emotional competencies. Curriculum that builds self-regulation, attention management, and goal-directed behavior addresses this integrated vision.
Final Thoughts
Connecticut has built one of the most comprehensive state-level SEL systems in the country. SEL is defined in statute. A K-12 framework is approved by the State Board. A 33-member advisory collaborative is legislatively mandated to improve SEL access. A free statewide SEL assessment is available to every K-12 school. School climate improvement plans are required. Teacher preparation must include conflict resolution and bullying prevention. And the educator evaluation framework allows SEL-focused professional goals.
The infrastructure is complete. The definition is in law. The framework is approved. The assessment is free. The plans are required.
For Connecticut elementary schools, the path forward is practical: choose a program that aligns with the Social, Emotional, and Intellectual Habits framework, addresses the five competencies the statute names, supports the DESSA assessment, strengthens your school climate improvement plan, and delivers structured instruction to every student, every week, all year. Connecticut has built the system. The students need the instruction. Start there.
References
- Connecticut General Statutes § 10-222aa. School Climate Definitions (including SEL definition). law.justia.com
- Connecticut State Department of Education. Components of Social, Emotional, and Intellectual Habits: Kindergarten through Grade 12. portal.ct.gov
- Connecticut State Department of Education. Components of Social, Emotional and Intellectual Habits: K-3 and Subject Area Connections. portal.ct.gov
- Connecticut General Assembly. Public Act 19-166, An Act Concerning School Climates. safesupportivelearning.ed.gov
- Connecticut State Department of Education. Connecticut School Climate Guidance (2025). portal.ct.gov
- Connecticut State Department of Education. Social-Emotional Learning (SEL): DESSA Assessment. portal.ct.gov
- Connecticut State Department of Education. Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Documents. portal.ct.gov
- Connecticut State Department of Education. Addressing the Needs of the Whole Child: Topical Brief 3, SRBI. portal.ct.gov
- Connecticut State Department of Education. Developing and Implementing SLOs/Indicators with a Focus on SEL. portal.ct.gov
- StopBullying.gov. Connecticut Anti-Bullying Laws and Policies. stopbullying.gov
- 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 Connecticut Schools
Be The Buffalo aligns with Connecticut's State Board-approved Social, Emotional, and Intellectual Habits framework and the five competencies defined in statute. 40 weeks of K-5 curriculum covering self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. Interactive projector activities, original songs, stories, printable worksheets, and teacher guides. Bilingual English and Spanish. No student accounts. No devices. No prep. Built to deliver the instruction that gives your DESSA data meaning.
Sign Up FreeRelated Resources
SEL Curriculum for Elementary Schools
How to evaluate and choose a CASEL-aligned SEL curriculum for K-5 schools.
Best SEL Curriculum for Elementary
What to look for in a K-5 SEL program that combines character traits with social-emotional skills.
Rhode Island SEL Requirements
How Rhode Island's endorsed SEL standards, health education framework, and BRIDGE-RI MTSS framework create expectations for social-emotional instruction.
New York SEL Requirements
How New York's SEL benchmarks and health education standards create expectations for social-emotional instruction.