A practical guide for Louisiana educators and administrators on the state's mental health instruction mandate, health education standards, bullying prevention law, trauma-informed training requirements, behavioral health intervention obligations, and what compliance and implementation actually look like for K-5 schools.
Louisiana does not have K-12 social-emotional learning standards. What Louisiana does have is one of the most active state legislatures in the country when it comes to passing school mental health and behavioral health laws, which together create a set of requirements that cover much of the same ground as SEL standards, just without calling it that.
Since 2022 alone, the Louisiana Legislature has enacted mandatory K-12 mental health instruction, required eating disorder awareness education, mandated trauma-informed training for school personnel, authorized mental health days for students, required behavioral health intervention programs in every school, and passed legislation for mental health screenings. These are not suggestions. They are statutes.
For Louisiana elementary educators, the practical question is not whether social-emotional skills need to be taught. The legislature has made that clear. The question is how to deliver coherent instruction across overlapping requirements without running a different standalone program for each one.
Louisiana's Legislative Momentum
More mental health and behavioral health school legislation in 4 years than most states pass in a decade:
2021 — Act 353
Annual ACE/trauma-informed training for all school personnel
2022 — Act 650
Mandatory K-12 mental health instruction
2023 — Act 318
Mental health days, expanded instruction, screening pilot
2024 — Act 324
Behavioral health intervention required in every school
2025 — Act 469
Mental health screenings for all students
Louisiana's Mental Health Instruction Mandate
Act 650 (2022): Required K-12 Mental Health Instruction
In 2022, Louisiana enacted R.S. 17:271.1, requiring every public school to provide age-appropriate classroom instruction on mental health to students in grades K-12. The instruction must include:[1]
- • Preventive mental health measures, including proper diet, exercise, risk avoidance, and stress reduction
- • The relationship between mental health and physical health
- • Brain health, emotional health, identifying trauma and stress, and the impact of trauma and stress
- • Resources and services available to assist people with mental health issues
Act 318 (2023): Expanded Provisions
HB 353 expanded Louisiana's approach by adding the difference between mental and physical health, the management of stress, allowing up to three excused mental health absences per year, requiring suicide prevention helpline posting, and directing a pilot program for trauma-informed mental health screening.[2]
2024 Legislative Changes
Louisiana's 2024 session repealed several standalone training mandates as part of a broader consolidation effort. LDOE directed schools to continue providing mental health content through health education standards.[3] The underlying expectations remain; the delivery mechanism shifted to health education.
Louisiana's Health Education Standards
What the Standards Require
Louisiana's health education standards are based on the eight National Health Education Standards. For grades 1-6, a combined minimum of 150 minutes per week of health and physical education instruction is required.[4]
1. Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
2. Analyzing Influences on Health Behaviors
3. Accessing Valid Information
4. Interpersonal Communication Skills
5. Decision-Making Skills
6. Goal-Setting Skills
7. Practicing Health-Enhancing Behaviors
8. Advocacy
Highlighted standards (4-7) are directly social-emotional in content.
Social-Emotional Content Within the Standards
For elementary schools, health education instruction should include:[4]
- ✓ How to express personal needs and wants appropriately
- ✓ Cooperation and sharing with others
- ✓ Conflict resolution and communication skills
- ✓ Identifying and expressing emotions in healthy ways
- ✓ Decision-making that considers consequences
- ✓ Goal setting and self-management
- ✓ Recognizing and responding to bullying
| Louisiana Health Education Standard | CASEL Competency |
|---|---|
| Interpersonal Communication Skills | Relationship Skills |
| Decision-Making Skills | Responsible Decision-Making |
| Goal-Setting Skills | Self-Management |
| Self-Management Practices | Self-Management |
| Health Promotion (mental/emotional) | Self-Awareness |
| Analyzing Influences | Social Awareness |
Character Education in Louisiana
Louisiana's character education statute, R.S. 17:282.2, is permissive rather than mandatory. The law provides that school systems “may offer” a nonsectarian character education curriculum focused on traits such as honesty, fairness, respect for self and others, and other traits determined by individual school communities.[5]
While not required by statute, many Louisiana schools and parishes implement character education programs as part of their approach to student development and school climate. Schools that choose to adopt a character education program strengthen their compliance posture across health education, bullying prevention, and behavioral health obligations simultaneously.
Bullying Prevention
Louisiana law (R.S. 17:416.14) prohibits bullying in all public schools and defines it as a pattern of harmful behavior. Schools are required to:[6]
- • Investigate incidents and notify parents
- • Take appropriate disciplinary action
- • Develop and implement evidence-based prevention practices
- • Train staff in bullying prevention
Students who have been taught empathy, communication skills, self-control, and respect through structured instruction are less likely to engage in bullying behaviors and more likely to intervene as bystanders. A curriculum that teaches these skills directly serves the bullying prevention mandate.
Trauma-Informed Training and Adverse Childhood Experiences
In 2021, Louisiana enacted legislation (Act 353) requiring all public school teachers, counselors, principals, and administrators to participate annually in at least one hour of in-service training on recognizing adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and utilizing trauma-informed educational practices.[7]
A school where adults are trained to recognize trauma and students are taught the self-regulation, emotional identification, and communication skills they need to manage their responses to stress creates a stronger safety net than either approach alone.
Behavioral Health Intervention
Act 324 (2024): R.S. 17:416.23
In 2024, Louisiana enacted R.S. 17:416.23, requiring every city, parish, and other local public school board to adopt and implement a program to facilitate behavioral health intervention and referral for treatment. School boards must report on this program annually.[8]
Mental Health Screenings (2025)
SB 121, which became law in 2025 as Act 469, requires public schools to offer mental health screenings for all students, with parent notification and referral processes.[9] These provisions create a framework where schools identify students who need support, which in turn creates demand for universal social-emotional instruction that builds capacity across the entire student population.
One Curriculum, Multiple Requirements
How structured SEL instruction addresses Louisiana's overlapping legislative obligations:
Health Education Standards
Standards 4-7 = SEL core
Mental Health Instruction
Emotional health + stress + coping
Bullying Prevention
Empathy + conflict resolution + respect
Behavioral Health Intervention
Tier 1 universal prevention
Trauma-Informed Practices
Self-regulation + emotional awareness
Substance Abuse Prevention
Decision-making + refusal skills
Suicide Prevention
Help-seeking + emotional management
All addressed by one unified SEL/character education curriculum
Substance Abuse Prevention
Louisiana requires every school board to establish substance abuse prevention, education, information, and counseling programs. Elementary schools are expected to provide a minimum of 16 contact hours of substance abuse prevention education each school year.[10]
Substance abuse prevention overlaps with social-emotional skill building: decision-making, refusal skills, identifying peer influence, and self-management are skills that both programs teach.
Suicide Prevention
Louisiana requires youth suicide prevention programs and mandates that school personnel receive training regarding violence prevention and suicide prevention. Each school must post the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number and any available local hotline number on its website and in visible locations within the school.[2] Social-emotional instruction builds the student side of prevention: the capacity to manage emotional distress, communicate with trusted adults, and seek help.
How to Align Your Elementary Program With Louisiana's Requirements
Step 1: Address Health Education Standards
Document how your program addresses Standards 4-8 (Interpersonal Communication, Decision-Making, Goal-Setting, Self-Management, Advocacy) at each elementary grade level. A comprehensive scope and sequence covering all five CASEL competencies across 40 weeks addresses every social-emotional strand.
Step 2: Integrate Mental Health Instruction
Document how your curriculum addresses preventive mental health measures, the mind-body health connection, emotional health, identifying stress and trauma, and connecting students with resources at each grade level.
Step 3: Connect to Bullying Prevention
Document how your social-emotional instruction serves the bullying prevention mandate. A curriculum that teaches empathy, kindness, conflict resolution, and respect is evidence-based prevention.
Step 4: Support the Behavioral Health Intervention Program
Universal social-emotional instruction functions as the Tier 1 foundation that reduces the number of students who need Tier 2 and Tier 3 behavioral health interventions under R.S. 17:416.23.[8]
Step 5: Align With Trauma-Informed Practices
When teachers are trained to recognize trauma responses and students are taught emotional regulation, self-awareness, and help-seeking skills, the two efforts reinforce each other.
Communicating With Louisiana Parents
Reference the Law
“Louisiana law requires schools to provide instruction on mental health, bullying prevention, and substance abuse prevention. Our program addresses these requirements through structured weekly lessons that teach students to manage emotions, resolve conflicts, make responsible decisions, and treat others with respect.”
Use Practical Language
“Students learn to identify and manage their emotions, resolve disagreements without aggression, set and work toward goals, make responsible decisions, and communicate effectively. These are life skills that help students succeed in school and beyond.”
Be Transparent About Mental Health Content
The state has determined that teaching children about emotional health, stress management, and when to seek help is a public health priority. Frame mental health instruction the same way you frame physical health instruction: as practical knowledge every child needs.
Choosing a Curriculum for Louisiana Schools
Addresses health education standards
Interpersonal communication, decision-making, goal-setting, and self-management standards anchor multiple Louisiana requirements.
Covers mental health instruction content
Emotional health, stress management, the mind-body connection, and knowing when to seek help, addressed age-appropriately.
Supports evidence-based bullying prevention
R.S. 17:416.14 requires evidence-based practices. Curriculum should teach empathy, conflict resolution, and respect.
Provides grade-band differentiation
Programs with distinct content for upper elementary meet developmental expectations across grade levels.
Offers a full-year scope and sequence
40 weeks of sequenced instruction ensures consistent coverage of health education and behavioral health obligations.
Complements trauma-informed practices
Builds self-regulation, emotional identification, and help-seeking skills that align with what adults are trained to support.
Serves as a Tier 1 foundation for behavioral health
Under R.S. 17:416.23, universal instruction reduces demand on Tier 2 and Tier 3 services.
Supports bilingual learners
Louisiana serves a significant multilingual population. Bilingual curriculum in English and Spanish supports equitable access.
Requires no devices or student accounts
Eliminates data privacy concerns and preserves the shared classroom experience.
Requires minimal prep
Ready-to-use weekly lessons are more likely to be implemented consistently.
What to Avoid
Treating each law as a separate program
These requirements overlap significantly. A unified social-emotional curriculum addresses the shared core of mental health, bullying prevention, substance abuse prevention, suicide prevention, and behavioral health.
Waiting for the legislature to consolidate
Louisiana's approach has been to add requirements incrementally. The underlying instructional expectations remain. Schools that wait for a clean framework will continue operating without one.
Ignoring the behavioral health intervention requirement
R.S. 17:416.23 is new (2024). Schools without Tier 1 social-emotional instruction will find their intervention systems overwhelmed by students who might have been served by prevention-level programming.
Delivering mental health content without skill building
A student who can identify stress but cannot manage it has information without capacity. Pair mental health knowledge with emotional regulation and decision-making skills.
Final Thoughts
Louisiana has taken an active legislative approach to student mental health and behavioral health, passing more school mental health legislation in the past four years than most states have passed in the past decade. No single statute is labeled “SEL requirements.” But the aggregate effect creates expectations that are functionally equivalent to what SEL standards produce in other states.
The legislature has made clear what it wants students to learn. The question is how efficiently and effectively your school delivers it.
References
- Louisiana Revised Statutes, R.S. 17:271.1. Mental health; required instruction. Act 650 (2022). https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/2022/revised-statutes/title-17/rs-17-271-1/
- Louisiana Legislature. (2023). Act 318, HB 353. Student behavioral and mental health. https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1330841
- Louisiana Department of Education. (2024). Revisions to Required Trainings Guidance for School and System Leaders. https://doe.louisiana.gov/docs/default-source/communication-portal-library/training-changes-guidance-2024-(1).pdf
- Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. Bulletin 741: Louisiana Health Education Standards. https://bese.louisiana.gov/docs/default-source/policy-page/28v59.pdf
- Louisiana Revised Statutes, R.S. 17:282.2. Character education programs. https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/2021/revised-statutes/title-17/rs-282-2/
- Louisiana Department of Education. R.S. 17:416.14. Bullying; definition; prohibition; notice; reporting. https://doe.louisiana.gov/school-system-leaders/school-policies/bullying
- Louisiana Legislature. (2021). Act 353, SB 211. Adverse childhood experiences; trauma-informed education. https://legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1235761
- Louisiana Legislature. (2024). Act 324, SB 252. Behavioral health of students; intervention and referral. https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1380796
- Louisiana Legislature. (2025). Act 469, SB 121. Mental health screenings in schools. https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1415071
- Louisiana Administrative Code, LAC 28:CXV.2305.F. Substance abuse prevention education. https://statepolicies.nasbe.org/health/categories/health-education/health-education-k-12-curriculum-alcohol-and-drug-use-or-abuse-es/louisiana
- Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., & Schellinger, K. B. (2011). The impact of enhancing students' social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Development, 82(1), 405-432. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01564.x
- Cipriano, C., Strambler, M. J., Naples, L. H., et al. (2023). The state of evidence for social and emotional learning: A contemporary meta-analysis of universal school-based SEL interventions. Child Development, 94(5), 1181-1204. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13968
Social-Emotional Learning for Louisiana Schools
Be The Buffalo delivers the social-emotional skills that Louisiana's health education standards, mental health instruction requirements, and behavioral health laws all point to. 40 weeks of K-5 curriculum covering emotional regulation, conflict resolution, decision-making, goal setting, empathy, self-awareness, and relationship skills.
Interactive projector activities, original songs, stories, printable worksheets, and teacher guides. Bilingual English and Spanish. No student accounts. No devices. No prep. One program that addresses multiple requirements.
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