1.  The department of elementary and secondary education shall identify and adopt an existing program or programs of educational instruction regarding violence prevention to be administered by public school districts pursuant to subsection 2 of this section, and which shall include, but shall not be limited to, instructing students of the negative consequences, both to the individual and to society at large, of membership in or association with criminal street gangs or participation in criminal street gang activity, as those phrases are defined in section 578.421, and shall include related training for school district employees directly responsible for the education of students concerning violence prevention and early identification of and intervention in violent behavior. The state board of education shall adopt such program or programs by rule as approved for use in Missouri public schools. The program or programs of instruction shall encourage nonviolent conflict resolution of problems facing youth; present alternative constructive activities for the students; encourage community participation in program instruction, including but not limited to parents and law enforcement officials; and shall be administered as appropriate for different grade levels and shall not be offered for academic credit.

2.  All public school districts within this state with the approval of the district’s board of education may administer the program or programs of student instruction adopted pursuant to subsection 1 of this section to students within the district starting at the kindergarten level and every year thereafter through the twelfth-grade level.

1.(1) The department of elementary and secondary education, through its school counseling section, shall be authorized to establish a voluntary pilot program, beginning in the 2020-2021 school year, to provide for social and emotional health education in elementary schools in the state. The purpose of the pilot program shall be to determine whether and how to implement an elementary social and emotional health education program statewide.

(2) The department, through its employees who work in the school counseling section, is authorized to select from among applications submitted by the public elementary schools a minimum of sixteen public elementary schools for participation in the pilot program. If fewer than sixteen schools apply for participation in the program, the department shall select as many eligible schools possible for partnership in the pilot program. The department shall develop an application process for public elementary schools to apply to participate in the pilot program. The local school board for each elementary school selected to be in the pilot program shall agree to implement and fully fund an elementary social and emotional health program in such school and to continue to provide such elementary social and emotional health education program for a period no shorter than three years. The local school district may employ a social and emotional health teacher to provide such program for the elementary school.

(3) The department, through its employees who work in the school counseling section, and local school districts shall collaborate to establish the instructional model for each elementary social and emotional health education program. Such instructional model shall be grade-appropriate and include instruction in an organized classroom, including instruction on how to set and achieve positive goals, how to utilize coping strategies to handle stress, and shall have an increased emphasis on protective factors, such as problem-solving skills, social support and social connectedness through positive relationships and teamwork.

(4) The department, through its school counseling section, shall provide for a program evaluation regarding the success and impact of the pilot program upon completion of the third year of the pilot program and shall report the results of such evaluation to the relevant house and senate committees on health and mental health, and education.

2. The department shall maintain an adequate number of full-time employees, certified in social and emotional health education and distributed regionally throughout the state, to provide accountability for program delivery of social and emotional health education, to continue to develop and maintain pertinent social and emotional health education instructional model and Standard, to assist local school districts on matters related to social and emotional health education, and to coordinate regional and state-wide activities supporting K-12 social and emotional health education programming.

3. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require public elementary schools to participate in the pilot program.

The Missouri Model for Trauma-Informed Schools provides a framework to guide schools and school districts in incorporating a trauma-informed approach into their practices, policies, and culture; social-emotional learning is addressed as one part of this holistic approach.