Dive Brief:

• Scarlett Lewis, the mother of a Newtown shooting victim, is calling for support of a bill currently making its way through Congress that aims to improve students' social and emotional competency.
• The bill allows for more principal and teacher training on how to address the social and emotional development needs of students through classroom instruction and schoolwide initiatives.
• The bill is named for Lewis’ son, Jesse and was introduced by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) in April.

Dive Insight:

Since Lewis' son died at Sandy Hook Elementary, she has advocated for instruction that nurtures traits she said her son shared. Lewis runs the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Foundation, which supports social and emotional learning. The legislation backed by Blumenthal is intended to encourage instruction that helps students build skills like those exemplified by Jesse.

So far, the bill has made little progress but Blumenthal successfully introduced similar language to the Senate ESEA rewrite that passed last week. That rewrite is currently being reconciled with the House reauthorization that passed two weeks ago. Blumenthal also backed language that allows federal funds to be used for mental health awareness and training for school personnel.

"Jesse Lewis had emotional intelligence way beyond his years — gifts of empathy, caring and hope that can be instilled in children nationwide if educators are given the right tools and training," Blumenthal said in a statement. "For Jesse, and for the 25 other children and talented educators lost at Sandy Hook, we still have a long way to go to ensure that all students have the support and skills they need to grow into strong and healthy members of society, but this vote is an important victory that deserves celebration."