Pilot Program for Social and Emotional Health Signed into Law

Pilot Program for Social and Emotional Health Signed into Law

JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri schools will begin to focus on the emotional well-being of children, due to the passage of legislation proposed by State Sen. Jill Schupp, D-Creve Coeur. Today, the governor signed House Bill 604, a comprehensive package of education reforms that includes Schupp’s bill, which establishes a voluntary pilot program to teach social and emotional health education in the state’s elementary schools.

The program will be available in the 2020-2021 school year, and continue for at least three years. Successful outcomes could lead to expanding the curriculum statewide. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) will collaborate with local schools to develop age-appropriate curriculum focused on utilizing coping strategies to manage stress, developing social support through teamwork and positive relationships, and emphasizing problem-solving.

“Today’s children are confronted with emotional and social challenges unheard of generations ago. Unfortunately, this manifests itself in many ways, including suicide,” Sen. Schupp said. “This legislation recognizes the need for schools to elevate emotional health to the same high standards as academic and physical health by focusing on prevention and coping skills early, before a student is in crisis.

The impetus of legislation derives from the continuing work of a suicide prevention advocate group assembled by Sen. Schupp to take a comprehensive approach to ending suicide in Missouri.

For more information on Sen. Schupp’s legislation, visit her official Missouri Senate website at www.senate.mo.gov/schupp.

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