Last Wednesday, Education Collaboratory Director Dr. Chris Cipriano joined Senator Richard Blumenthal at a press conference in Hartford, CT to defend the science and substance of social and emotional learning (SEL) in schools.
The event centered on a letter led by Senators Blumenthal and Booker to Secretary of Education Cardona in response to recent federal guidance that misrepresents SEL and threatens the loss of federal funding for states and districts that support it.
As Dr. Cipriano stated in her remarks, “Teaching students to be kind to their peers that don't look, or learn, or live like they do, isn't indoctrination, it’s education. And failing to provide students with skills to navigate their big feelings in health ways isn’t efficient, it’s irresponsible”
The press conference also came on the same day that Connecticut formally declined to sign the administration’s DEI compliance order. For educators and researchers in the field, this moment marks a critical inflection point for defending evidence-based SEL practices and standing against politicized misinformation.