Massachusetts has not mandated SEL instruction. What Massachusetts has done is weave social-emotional learning into virtually every structural element of its education system, creating an environment where SEL is embedded so deeply that a school operating without it is out of step with the state's definition of a good school, its teacher evaluation framework, its academic standards, and its statutory framework for safe and supportive learning environments.
The state defines SEL in statute and requires DESE to publish and biennially update implementation guidelines. The Safe and Supportive Schools Framework law (MGL c.69 §1P) explicitly names “social and emotional learning” as a component. The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted unanimously in 2017 to include SEL as a Guiding Principle in both the math and ELA standards. And the teacher evaluation framework includes an SEL indicator that evaluates whether teachers “employ a variety of strategies to assist students to develop social emotional competencies.”[1][2][3]
No single statute says “teach SEL.” But the statutory definition of a good school includes it. The teacher evaluation measures it. The academic standards reference it. The state publishes guidelines for it. And a standing commission reports on it annually. Massachusetts built SEL into the system, not as a mandate, but as an expectation woven through every layer.
How Massachusetts Weaves SEL Into Its System
SEL Defined in Statute
MGL c.69 §1N — DESE must publish and biennially update SEL guidelines
Safe & Supportive Schools
MGL c.69 §1P — SEL named explicitly in statutory definition
Teacher Eval Indicator
Indicator 2(e) — evaluates SEL competency development
Academic Standards
SEL adopted as Guiding Principle in math and ELA
Commission Reports
Annual reports from Safe and Supportive Schools Commission
Grant Funding
Fund Code 0311 — competitive SEL and behavioral health grants
The Safe and Supportive Schools Framework
MGL Chapter 69, Section 1P (2014)
“Safe and supportive schools” are schools that foster a safe, positive, healthy, and inclusive whole-school learning environment that:
- (i) Enables students to develop positive relationships with adults and peers, regulate their emotions and behavior, achieve academic and non-academic success in school, and maintain physical and psychological health and well-being.
- (ii) Integrates services and aligns initiatives that promote students' behavioral health, including social and emotional learning, bullying prevention, trauma sensitivity, dropout prevention, truancy reduction, children's mental health, foster care and homeless youth education, inclusion of students with disabilities, and positive behavioral approaches.
Social and emotional learning is named explicitly in the statutory definition. A school that operates without SEL is not, by the state's own definition, providing the safe and supportive environment the law describes.[4]
The Commission (11th Year)
The law created the Safe and Supportive Schools Commission, which produces annual reports on implementation, monitors progress, identifies needs, and provides recommendations for strengthening safe and supportive school environments across the state.[5]
SEL Defined in Statute
MGL Chapter 69, Section 1N (2010)
“The processes by which children acquire the knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary to recognize and manage their emotions, demonstrate caring and concern for others, establish positive relationships, make responsible decisions and constructively handle challenging social situations.”[1]
This statutory requirement means DESE has an ongoing obligation to maintain and update SEL implementation guidance. The state has defined SEL, required guidance to be published, and mandated that guidance be updated every two years.
SEL in Teacher Evaluation
Indicator 2(e): The SEL Indicator
Every Teacher Is Evaluated On This
“Social and Emotional Learning Indicator: Employs a variety of strategies to assist students to develop social emotional competencies: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.”[3]
Self-Awareness
Self-Management
Social Awareness
Relationship Skills
Responsible Decision-Making
Every teacher in Massachusetts is evaluated, in part, on whether they help students develop the five CASEL competencies. A teacher who implements a structured SEL curriculum has a documented instructional strategy that directly addresses it.
SEL as a Guiding Principle in Academic Standards
Mathematics
SEL as Guiding Principle
Adopted March 2017
ELA & Literacy
SEL as Guiding Principle
Adopted March 2017
In March 2017, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted unanimously to adopt revised learning standards with SEL as a Guiding Principle in both sets of standards.[3] When a school implements SEL instruction that builds self-management, goal setting, and responsible decision-making, it is supporting the guiding principles of the very standards its academic instruction is built on.
Health Education
Massachusetts provides a Comprehensive Health Curriculum Framework that includes social and emotional health as a named content area:[6]
Physical Health
Social & Emotional Health
SEL content area
Safety & Prevention
Community & Environmental Health
A CASEL-aligned curriculum addresses the social-emotional content within the health education framework while also supporting the teacher evaluation SEL indicator and the Guiding Principle in academic standards.
Anti-Bullying Law
MGL Chapter 71, Section 37O
Massachusetts has one of the strongest anti-bullying laws in the country. The law requires every school district to develop and implement a bullying prevention and intervention plan that includes:[7]
Training for all school staff on the plan
Age-appropriate, evidence-based instruction on bullying prevention for students
Procedures for reporting, investigation, and response
Procedures for restoring safety for the victim and assessing need for protection
Students who have been taught empathy, conflict resolution, self-control, respect, and communication skills through structured instruction are less likely to engage in bullying and more likely to contribute to the safe environment the law requires.
SEL Grants
Supporting Students' SEL, Behavioral and Mental Health, and Wellness
DESE provides competitive grants for districts implementing MTSS, student support academies, and evidence-based SEL practices. Competitive priority is given to districts with high-needs student populations.[8]
How to Align Your Elementary Program With Massachusetts' Framework
Support the Safe and Supportive Schools Definition
Document how your SEL curriculum enables students to develop positive relationships with adults and peers, regulate their emotions and behavior.
Address the Teacher Evaluation SEL Indicator
A structured curriculum providing 40 weeks of sequenced instruction gives every teacher an evidence-based strategy they can document. A comprehensive scope and sequence covering all five CASEL competencies directly addresses the five competencies the indicator names.
Connect to Academic Standards Guiding Principles
SEL is a Guiding Principle in both math and ELA. Document how your SEL instruction supports academic achievement by building self-management, relationship skills, and decision-making competencies.
Address Health Education Content
Document how your curriculum covers the social and emotional health content area within the health education framework.
Support the Anti-Bullying Plan
Your bullying prevention and intervention plan requires evidence-based instruction. Document how your SEL curriculum provides the evidence-based prevention instruction the plan requires.
Communicating With Massachusetts Parents
Reference the Law
“Massachusetts law describes safe and supportive schools as environments where students develop positive relationships, regulate their emotions, and achieve success. Social and emotional learning is named explicitly in this definition. Our program teaches the skills the law describes.”
Connect to Teacher Evaluation
“Massachusetts evaluates teachers on their ability to develop students' social-emotional competencies. Our structured SEL program gives every teacher the tools to meet this expectation and build the skills students need.”
Be Concrete
“Students learn to identify and manage their emotions, resolve disagreements peacefully, set and pursue goals, show empathy and kindness, persevere, and make responsible decisions. These are the competencies Massachusetts names in both its teacher evaluation framework and its academic standards.”
Choosing a Curriculum for Massachusetts Schools
When selecting social-emotional curriculum for your Massachusetts elementary school, verify that the program:
Addresses the five CASEL competencies named in the teacher evaluation indicator. Self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. A CASEL-aligned curriculum addresses all five.
Supports the Safe and Supportive Schools Framework. Your curriculum should enable students to develop positive relationships, regulate emotions, and achieve both academic and non-academic success.
Aligns with the Guiding Principle in academic standards. SEL is a Guiding Principle in both math and ELA. Your curriculum should build the competencies that support academic achievement.
Addresses health education content. Social and emotional health is a named content area. Your curriculum should cover it.
Provides evidence-based bullying prevention. Your anti-bullying plan requires evidence-based instruction. Your curriculum should teach empathy, communication, conflict resolution, and respect.
Provides grade-band differentiation. Programs providing distinct content for each grade level match developmental progression.
Offers a full-year scope and sequence. A program providing 40 weeks of sequenced instruction ensures consistent coverage across all competencies.
Requires no devices or student accounts. Device-free, teacher-led programs eliminate data privacy concerns and preserve the shared classroom experience.
Supports bilingual learners. Massachusetts 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
Assuming that no mandate means no expectation
SEL is defined in statute, named in the Safe and Supportive Schools law, a Guiding Principle in standards, an indicator in teacher evaluation, supported by grant funding, and monitored by a standing commission. Every structural element points toward it.
Ignoring the teacher evaluation indicator
Indicator 2(e) evaluates whether teachers develop students' social-emotional competencies. A school without a curriculum is asking every teacher to develop their own approach to a named evaluation indicator. A structured curriculum solves this.
Separating SEL from academic instruction
The Board included SEL as a Guiding Principle in both math and ELA. A school that treats SEL as separate from academics is missing the integration the state's own standards describe.
Meeting the anti-bullying law without prevention instruction
A plan focused solely on investigation and response without teaching the skills that prevent bullying is incomplete. A 40-week curriculum that embeds prevention throughout the year satisfies the instructional requirement.
Final Thoughts
Massachusetts has woven social-emotional learning into every layer of its education system. SEL is defined in statute. It is named in the Safe and Supportive Schools law. It is a Guiding Principle in math and ELA standards. It is an indicator in the teacher evaluation framework. DESE must publish and update SEL implementation guidelines biennially. A standing commission reports annually. Dedicated grant funding supports implementation. And one of the strongest anti-bullying laws in the country requires evidence-based prevention instruction.
No single statute says “teach SEL.” The system says it instead, through every structural element a school operates within. For Massachusetts elementary schools, the path forward is practical: choose a program that addresses the five competencies the teacher evaluation names, supports the Safe and Supportive Schools definition, aligns with the Guiding Principle in academic standards, provides evidence-based bullying prevention, and delivers structured instruction to every student, every week, all year. The system expects it. The evaluation measures it. The standards reference it. The students need it.
References
- SEL4MA. SEL Policy Timeline: Massachusetts Legislation and Policy. sel4ma.org
- Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Social and Emotional Learning in Massachusetts. doe.mass.edu
- CASEL. Massachusetts: SEL for All (SEL Policy and Standards Document). casel.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com (PDF)
- Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 69, Section 1P. Safe and Supportive Schools Framework. malegislature.gov
- Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Safe and Supportive Schools Commission. doe.mass.edu
- Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. FY2026 Fund Code 0311: Supporting Students' SEL. doe.mass.edu
- Massachusetts Law About Student Discipline (MGL c. 71, § 37O referenced). mass.gov
- Trauma Sensitive Schools. Safe and Supportive Schools Law. traumasensitiveschools.org
- 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 Massachusetts Schools
Be The Buffalo provides the structured instruction that Massachusetts' teacher evaluation measures and its Safe and Supportive Schools framework describes. 40 weeks of K-5 curriculum covering the five competencies Indicator 2(e) names. Interactive projector activities, original songs, stories, printable worksheets, and teacher guides. Bilingual English and Spanish. No student accounts. No devices. No prep.
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