Proposal to drop social-emotional learning advances in Indiana

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat Indiana.

Indiana teachers will no longer be required to train in social-emotional learning, trauma-informed care, or cultural competency if an amendment passed in committee Wednesday becomes law. And another amendment would mean some fees for students and families could return.

The amendments were added the week after the Senate Education and Career Development Committee heard public testimony on House Bill 1002, a 135-page proposal primarily aimed at removing some requirements in Indiana education code.

One amendment drops requirements that all Indiana teachers must train in practices like social-emotional learning and trauma-informed care—defined as support for students who have experienced trauma that may interfere with academics—as well as cultural competency and restorative justice.

The practices have long come under fire from conservative groups that say they inappropriately push liberal ideology that is at odds with what children learn at home. The fight seems to have gained momentum after the Trump administration issued new federal guidance promising to root out indoctrination in schools.

But educators and advocates for the practices say they have a place in the classroom. They say social-emotional learning helps students learn to manage stress. And districts like Indianapolis Public Schools have turned to restorative justice practices to de-escalate student conflicts and reduce disproportionate rates of discipline.

The amendment also removes evaluating “social, emotional, and behavioral functioning” from the defined responsibilities of a school psychologist.

The amendment further says school improvement plans would no longer have to incorporate “culturally appropriate strategies for increasing education opportunities” for student groups at the school, including different racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups. The change speaks to new federal guidance, including a Feb. 14 Dear Colleague letter from the U.S. Department of Education, that such consideration of race in educational settings is unlawful.

Republican Sen. Gary Byrne, who authored the amendment, said social-emotional learning and trauma-informed care “minimize the focus on core academics,” and add to the demands on teachers “who already claim to be overworked and underpaid.”

He said students, too, report higher rates of sadness or hopelessness than before these practices were common.

“Teachers should focus on academic rigor, math, science, reading, and writing, technical skills, instead of this emotional regulation, empathy, and etcetera,” Byrne said. “Teachers are not therapists, nor should they be treated as such. Licensed mental health professionals are better equipped to handle the social-emotional aspects of a student’s life.”

The amendment passed on party lines over opposition from Democratic lawmakers. Although the education committee typically hears testimony from the public the week before they amend and vote on bills, there was no public testimony Wednesday on these amendments.

Democratic Sen. Andrea Hunley, a former teacher and principal, said the changes made don’t prohibit teachers from training in these practices and implementing them on their own.

“Just because we strike this out of the bill and say it’s no longer the policy of the state of Indiana doesn’t mean it’s not a best practice,” Hunley said.

What can Indiana schools charge fees for?

The school fees amendment gives schools more authority to charge for materials that aren’t textbooks or laptops—somewhat of a departure from the legislature’s 2023 move to abolish textbook and curriculum fees for families.

Education committee Chair Sen. Jeff Raatz and other Republican lawmakers said that law didn’t offer enough specificity about what schools could charge fees for, leaving a gray area regarding things like uniforms and field trip fees.

Curriculum is defined in state code as “systematically organized material designed to provide a specific level of instruction in a subject matter category, including books, hardware that will be consumed, accessed, or used by a single student during a semester or school year, or digital content.”

Rogers’ amendment says schools can charge a “reasonable fee” for materials that don’t fall under this category.

But Democratic lawmakers said the language needed more clarity—and perhaps a list of examples of what’s acceptable.

Districts have said the $160 million appropriated in the last state budget to provide curriculum materials to all public and some private school students was not nearly enough, leaving them to cover the difference from their general budgets.

But education leaders, including Secretary of Education Katie Jenner, have said that some districts have fallen well below their state allocation for curricular materials.

This year’s budget proposal rolls the curriculum fund into the base tuition support that schools receive.

House Bill 1002 will be heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee before it moves to the full Senate.

Chalkbeat Indiana is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.