Missouri's approach to social-emotional learning is defined by a deliberate political choice and by everything that exists around that choice.
In 2023, the State Board of Education's K-12 SEL Workgroup completed the Competencies of Relationship-building Education (CORE) Framework with student indicators. The State Board then “chose to use the work of the SEL Workgroup as a framework/resource document for stakeholders, but not to move forward with implementing statewide SEL standards.”[1]
That decision is clear. Missouri does not have mandatory K-12 SEL standards.
What Missouri does have is K-12 School Counseling Learning Standards with Social and Emotional Development as one of three core strands. It has a mental health awareness training requirement aligned to “Missouri K-12 Learning Standards for Social-Emotional Learning.” It has the CORE Framework as a voluntary resource. It has the Missouri Framework for School-Based Mental Health. It has one of the most extensive PBIS implementations in the country. And it has suicide prevention policy requirements for every district.[1][2][3]
Missouri's SEL Landscape
School Counseling Standards
Social & Emotional Development as core strand
CORE Framework
Voluntary resource with competencies & indicators
Mental Health Training
HS graduation requirement aligned to SEL
SBMH Framework
Resources Guide provided to every school
MO SW-PBS
One of the most extensive PBIS implementations nationally
Suicide Prevention
Required policy with protective factor alignment
The CORE Framework
Competencies of Relationship-building Education (CORE)
Developed by the State Board's K-12 SEL Workgroup and completed in 2023. Includes competencies, a glossary, and student indicators designed to help schools equip students to become “successful, productive contributors to a global society.”[1]
Schools may use the CORE Framework. They are not required to. However, the underlying competencies it describes still appear in other required elements of Missouri's educational framework, particularly the school counseling standards and mental health training requirements.
Missouri Comprehensive School Counseling Program
Three Core Strands
Social & Emotional Development
Core SEL Strand
Academic Development
Career Development
Social and Emotional Development Content (Elementary)
Beyond the Counselor's Office
“School counselors must work closely with teachers to organize where and when school counseling curriculum activities will be taught.” Social and emotional development is delivered “through classrooms and large groups from kindergarten through grade 12.”[5]
A 40-week curriculum that covers all five CASEL competencies provides the classroom-based instruction that complements the counselor's direct services.
Mental Health Awareness Training
Section 170.307, RSMo — Graduation Requirement
High school students must receive a minimum of two hours of mental health awareness training during their four years as a condition of graduation.[3]
The SEL Alignment Requirement (5 CSR 20-200.275)
“The mental health awareness instruction shall be aligned to Missouri K-12 Learning Standards for Social-Emotional Learning (SEL), Missouri and/or national standards and course level expectations in health education, physical education, and school counseling.”
While the two-hour requirement applies to high school, the competencies it references are built on a K-12 progression. Elementary schools that teach social-emotional skills are building the foundation that makes the high school training meaningful rather than introducing concepts for the first time in ninth grade.
Missouri Framework for School-Based Mental Health
The Missouri Framework for School-Based Mental Health organizes core features of a comprehensive continuum of supports. In 2025-2026, DESE provided every school an “SBMH Resources Guide” with tools and resources to support implementation.[6]
Intensive
Individualized supports
Targeted
Small group interventions
Universal Prevention — SEL Curriculum
Structured instruction for all students
For elementary schools, structured social-emotional instruction functions as the universal prevention layer. Students who develop emotional regulation, communication skills, and help-seeking behaviors through Tier 1 instruction are less likely to need more intensive supports.
Missouri Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support (MO SW-PBS)
PBIS + SEL = Complete System
MO SW-PBS Provides
Behavioral expectations, reinforcement systems, schoolwide consistency
SEL Curriculum Provides
Underlying skills: self-control, conflict resolution, empathy, communication
Missouri is one of the original PBIS states with one of the most extensive implementations nationally.[7] A school with strong PBIS and strong SEL instruction has both the framework and the skills. SEL teaches self-control, conflict resolution, empathy, and communication that enable students to meet PBIS expectations.
Suicide Prevention
Missouri law (Section 170.048, RSMo) requires every district to adopt a youth suicide awareness and prevention policy addressing:[8]
Strategies to identify students at possible risk
Strategies and protocols for helping students at risk
Protocols for responding to a suicide death
Social-emotional instruction builds protective factors: self-awareness, emotional regulation, help-seeking skills, and connection to trusted adults.
How to Align Your Elementary Program With Missouri's Framework
Address School Counseling Standards
Social and Emotional Development is a core strand. Document how your classroom-based instruction aligns. A CASEL-aligned curriculum maps to these standards.
Use the CORE Framework as a Guide
Whether or not your school formally adopts it, the competencies provide an organizing structure that aligns with national best practices and Missouri's school counseling standards.
Build the Foundation for Mental Health Training
Elementary instruction in emotional identification, stress management, self-regulation, and help-seeking establishes the foundation for the high school graduation requirement.
Support the SBMH Continuum
Your SEL curriculum serves as the universal prevention layer within the school-based mental health continuum. Document how structured instruction reduces demand on intensive services.
Complement MO SW-PBS
Document how specific lessons build the competencies (self-control, respect, communication, responsible decision-making) that your PBIS matrix promotes.
Communicating With Missouri Parents
Use Practical Language
“Our school teaches students the skills they need to succeed in school and life: managing emotions, building healthy relationships, resolving conflicts, setting goals, and making responsible decisions. These are the same skills included in Missouri's school counseling standards and supported by the school-based mental health framework.”
Connect to Character
“Our program teaches responsibility, respect, self-discipline, kindness, perseverance, and honesty through structured weekly lessons that build the skills behind each trait.”
Be Concrete
“Students learn to identify and manage their emotions, resolve disagreements peacefully, set and pursue goals, show empathy toward others, and make responsible decisions. These are practical life skills every child needs.”
Choosing a Curriculum for Missouri Schools
When selecting social-emotional curriculum for your Missouri elementary school, verify that the program:
Aligns with the School Counseling Social and Emotional Development strand. Missouri's counseling standards include Social and Emotional Development as a core strand. A CASEL-aligned curriculum addresses the competencies it describes.
Maps to CASEL competencies. A CASEL-aligned curriculum connects to the CORE Framework, school counseling standards, and mental health training alignment requirement.
Supports PBIS implementation. Your curriculum should teach the skills that enable students to meet MO SW-PBS behavioral expectations.
Builds the foundation for mental health training. The K-12 progression matters. Elementary instruction establishes the foundation for the graduation requirement.
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.
Supports the SBMH continuum. Your curriculum serves as the universal prevention layer within the school-based mental health 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. Bilingual curriculum in English and Spanish supports equitable access for Missouri's growing multilingual population.
Requires minimal prep. Programs that provide ready-to-use weekly lessons are more likely to be implemented consistently.
What to Avoid
Treating the State Board's decision as the end of the conversation
The Board did not eliminate school counseling standards, repeal the mental health training requirement, dismantle PBIS, or withdraw the SBMH framework. The surrounding infrastructure still expects social-emotional instruction.
Relying on the counselor alone
The counseling curriculum is designed for “classrooms and large groups” with counselors working closely with teachers. A classroom-based curriculum ensures every student receives consistent instruction every week.
Running PBIS without teaching the skills it reinforces
Telling students what to do without teaching them how is incomplete. A student told to “show respect” without instruction on what respect looks like in practice is being held to expectations without the teaching to get there.
Waiting for a mandate before acting
The students in elementary school right now cannot wait for a political decision that may not come. The counseling standards expect social and emotional development. The SBMH framework is in every school. PBIS depends on SEL skills. The students need the instruction regardless.
Final Thoughts
Missouri's landscape is shaped by a deliberate political decision and by everything the state has built around it. The State Board chose not to mandate SEL standards. The CORE Framework exists as a voluntary resource. The school counseling standards include Social and Emotional Development as a core strand. The mental health training regulation references SEL alignment. DESE provided every school an SBMH Resources Guide. Missouri is a national leader in PBIS. And every district must have a suicide prevention policy.
The mandate does not exist. The expectation does, embedded in counseling standards, mental health requirements, school-based mental health infrastructure, and the behavioral framework that schools across the state have already adopted. For Missouri elementary schools, the path forward is practical: choose a program that aligns with the school counseling standards, complements MO SW-PBS, supports the SBMH continuum, and delivers structured instruction to every student, every week, all year. The students do not need a mandate to need the skills.
References
- Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Student Social-Emotional Support: CORE Framework. dese.mo.gov
- Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Show Me SEL. dese.mo.gov
- Missouri Code of State Regulations, 5 CSR 20-200.275. Mental Health Awareness Training. regulations.justia.com
- Missouri DESE. Social & Emotional Development Unit Plans. dese.mo.gov
- Missouri DESE. K-12 Missouri School Counseling Learning Standards and Curriculum. dese.mo.gov
- Missouri DESE. Mental Health Resources for School Staff and Students. dese.mo.gov
- Missouri DESE. School Counseling: Legislation (MO SW-PBS references). dese.mo.gov
- Missouri DESE. Youth Suicide Awareness and Prevention. dese.mo.gov
- Missouri DESE. Social and Emotional Development Unit Plans. dese.mo.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 Missouri Schools
Be The Buffalo teaches the social-emotional skills that Missouri's school counseling standards describe, PBIS depends on, and the school-based mental health continuum expects at the prevention level. 40 weeks of K-5 curriculum. Interactive projector activities, original songs, stories, printable worksheets, and teacher guides. Bilingual English and Spanish. No student accounts. No devices. No prep.
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 program that combines character traits with social-emotional skills.
Kansas SEL Requirements
How Kansas's Social, Emotional, and Character Development Standards create expectations for K-5.
Iowa SEL Requirements
How Iowa's K-12 SEL Competencies and SEBH framework create expectations for K-5.
Illinois SEL Requirements
How Illinois's mandatory K-12 SEL standards create binding obligations for K-5.
Arkansas SEL Requirements
How Arkansas's guidance counseling standards and health education requirements create expectations.