“Statutory or Board rules do not require specific SEL competencies be taught and assessed in schools to all students in Vermont at this time.”[1]
“Instruction to SEL competencies integrated throughout the K-12 curriculum serve as a universal intervention in a tiered system of support (16 V.S.A. § 2902), an element of a comprehensive health education program (16 V.S.A. § 131), and meet outcomes identified through the Vermont Portrait of a Graduate.”[1]
Three statutory references. Three frameworks that SEL addresses. No mandate, but three laws the AOE itself connects to SEL instruction.
Vermont law requires comprehensive health education K-12. The State Board adopted new health education standards in December 2024 that explicitly include SEL competencies. VTmtss is legislatively defined with SEL serving as the universal Tier 1 intervention. And the Education Quality Standards require curriculum aligned with State Board-adopted standards.
Three Statutory Frameworks Connected to SEL
Comprehensive Health Education
Required K-12; adopted standards include SEL competencies
VTmtss
SEL as universal Tier 1 intervention in tiered supports
Portrait of a Graduate
SEL meets identified personal and interpersonal outcomes
Comprehensive Health Education: Required by Law
16 V.S.A. § 131
Vermont law defines comprehensive health education as a “systemic and extensive” educational program and requires this education for K-12 students.[2]
New Health Education Standards (December 2024)
The Vermont State Board adopted the 2024 SHAPE America National Health Education Standards. The AOE states explicitly: “Both standards include SEL competencies.”[1]
The Compliance Chain
Health education is required by law (16 V.S.A. § 131)
State Board adopted standards that include SEL competencies
EQS require curriculum aligned with State Board-adopted standards
SEL competencies are embedded in required health education
The NHES/CASEL Crosswalk
| Health Education Standard | SEL Content | CASEL |
|---|---|---|
| Health Concepts | Mental, emotional, social health | Self-Awareness |
| Interpersonal Communication | Conflict resolution, relationships | Relationship Skills |
| Decision-Making | Problem solving, consequences | Responsible Decision-Making |
| Goal Setting | Personal goals | Self-Management |
| Self-Management | Self-regulation, stress | Self-Management |
| Analyzing Influences | Peer, family, cultural influences | Social Awareness |
A CASEL-aligned curriculum addresses every social-emotional strand in the newly adopted health education standards.
VTmtss: SEL as Universal Intervention
Legislatively Defined (16 V.S.A. § 2902)
Tier 3
Individualized interventions
Tier 2
Targeted supports
Tier 1 — SEL Curriculum (Universal Intervention)
“Instruction to SEL competencies” — AOE
For elementary schools, a structured SEL curriculum providing 40 weeks of instruction serves as the universal Tier 1 intervention that the AOE describes.
Universal SEB Screening
The AOE provides guidance on universal screening for social, emotional, and behavioral needs.[4] Assessment without instruction produces data without outcomes. Schools that screen without providing structured instruction are identifying gaps they have no systematic plan to close.
The Vermont Portrait of a Graduate & Transferable Skills
The Portrait of a Graduate specifies cognitive, personal, and interpersonal skills students need upon graduation. The AOE states that SEL competencies “meet outcomes identified through the Vermont Portrait of a Graduate.”[1][5]
Five Transferable Skills
Self-Direction
Self-management, goal setting, motivation
Most explicitly SEL
Clear & Effective Communication
Listening, speaking, writing, presenting
Creative & Practical Problem Solving
Identifying problems, generating solutions
Responsible & Involved Citizenship
Contributing, diverse perspectives, ethics
Informed & Integrative Thinking
Analyzing, connecting, applying knowledge
Each Transferable Skill depends on social-emotional foundations. Communication requires relationship skills. Problem solving requires self-management. Citizenship requires social awareness and empathy. Elementary instruction builds these foundations.[6]
The VT School Counselor Association Crosswalk
The Vermont School Counselor Association designed a crosswalk that includes VT SEL competencies tied to learning targets, grouped by grade level (PreK-12). The AOE encourages schools to use this document for aligning classroom instruction to developmental expectations, connected to ASCA Mindsets and Behaviors and CASEL competencies.[7]
How to Align Your Elementary Program With Vermont's Framework
Address the Adopted Health Education Standards
The State Board adopted standards that include SEL competencies. The EQS require alignment. A comprehensive scope and sequence across 40 weeks addresses every strand the NHES/CASEL crosswalk identifies.
Build Your VTmtss Tier 1
The AOE identifies SEL instruction as a universal intervention. Your curriculum is that intervention. Document how it connects to your SEB screening data.
Build Toward the Portrait of a Graduate
Document how your elementary SEL instruction builds the personal and interpersonal competencies the PoG describes.
Support Transferable Skills Development
Document how your curriculum builds self-management, goal setting, communication, and problem-solving skills for proficiency-based graduation.
Use the VTSCA Crosswalk
The grade-level SEL competencies provide developmental targets. Align your curriculum and document coverage at each grade level.
Communicating With Vermont Parents
Reference the Three Statutory Connections
“Vermont law requires comprehensive health education. The State Board adopted standards that include social-emotional competencies. Our program teaches these skills: managing emotions, building healthy relationships, resolving conflicts, setting goals, and making responsible decisions. These same skills connect to Vermont's MTSS framework and the Portrait of a Graduate.”
Connect to Transferable Skills
“Vermont's proficiency-based graduation requirements include Transferable Skills like Self-Direction, Communication, and Problem Solving. Our social-emotional program builds the foundation for these skills starting in elementary school.”
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 practical skills every child needs and that Vermont's graduation requirements build on.”
Choosing a Curriculum for Vermont Schools
Aligns with the adopted health education standards. A CASEL-aligned curriculum addresses the SEL competencies the standards include.
Functions as a VTmtss Tier 1 intervention. The AOE identifies SEL instruction as a universal intervention. Your curriculum serves that role.
Builds toward the Portrait of a Graduate. Personal and interpersonal competencies begin in elementary school.
Supports Transferable Skills development. Self-Direction, Communication, Problem Solving, and Citizenship depend on social-emotional competencies.
Provides grade-band differentiation. Programs providing distinct content for each grade level match developmental progression.
Offers a full-year scope and sequence. Vermont's “systemic and extensive” health education demands sustained instruction. 40 weeks of sequenced instruction ensures comprehensive coverage.
Requires no devices or student accounts. Device-free, teacher-led programs work in Vermont's smaller, rural schools.
Supports bilingual learners. Bilingual curriculum in English and Spanish supports equitable access.
Requires minimal prep. Vermont's smaller schools often operate with limited staffing. Ready-to-use weekly lessons are more likely to be implemented consistently.
What to Avoid
Ignoring the AOE's own statutory connections
The AOE explicitly connects SEL to three statutory frameworks. A school citing the absence of SEL standards while ignoring the AOE's description of how SEL connects to existing legal requirements is missing the map the state has drawn.
Treating adopted health standards as separate from SEL
The AOE states the adopted standards “include SEL competencies.” A school delivering health education without addressing its social-emotional content is not fully implementing the adopted standards.
Implementing VTmtss without the universal intervention
A school implementing Tiers 2 and 3 without structured Tier 1 SEL instruction is intervening without preventing. The curriculum provides the universal layer.
Disconnecting elementary instruction from Transferable Skills
Self-Direction, Communication, Problem Solving, and Citizenship are graduation requirements. They do not appear fully formed in twelfth grade. Elementary schools must build the social-emotional foundations.
Final Thoughts
Vermont has not mandated SEL competencies. Vermont has required comprehensive health education and adopted standards that include SEL competencies. Vermont has legislatively defined a multi-tiered system of supports where SEL serves as the universal intervention. Vermont has developed a Portrait of a Graduate that depends on personal and interpersonal competencies. And the AOE has drawn the lines connecting all three statutory frameworks to SEL instruction.
The AOE said it plainly: no SEL mandate at this time. The AOE also said, just as plainly, that SEL instruction serves three statutory frameworks. Both statements are true. Both matter. For Vermont elementary schools, the path forward is practical: choose a program that addresses the adopted health education standards' SEL competencies, serves as the universal VTmtss intervention, builds toward the Portrait of a Graduate, and delivers structured instruction to every student, every week, all year. Three statutory frameworks. One set of skills.
References
- Vermont Agency of Education. Social Emotional Learning and Health Standards. education.vermont.gov
- Vermont Agency of Education. Health Education. education.vermont.gov
- Code of Vermont Rules, Education Quality Standards (Section 2120). regulations.justia.com
- Vermont Agency of Education. Universal Screening for SEB Needs and Strengths. education.vermont.gov (PDF)
- Vermont Agency of Education. Proficiency-Based Graduation Requirements and the Vermont Portrait of a Graduate. education.vermont.gov
- Vermont Agency of Education. Transferable Skills. education.vermont.gov
- Vermont Agency of Education. SEL and Mental Health Well-Being Resources and Tools for Educators. education.vermont.gov
- Vermont Agency of Education. School Climate. education.vermont.gov
- Vermont Agency of Education. SEL and Well-Being Data Collection and Reporting. education.vermont.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 Vermont Schools
Be The Buffalo addresses the SEL competencies embedded in Vermont's adopted health education standards, serves as the universal VTmtss intervention, and builds the personal and interpersonal foundations the Portrait of a Graduate describes. 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.
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