Whereas, according to research conducted by both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Harvard University, the COVID–19 pandemic heightened the urgency to provide greater assistance to students, educators, and families to address the mental health, behavioral, and other systemic challenges that impede the academic and developmental improvement and success of students; Whereas decades of research demonstrate how social and emotional learning (referred to in this preamble as SEL ) promotes academic achievement, mental wellness, healthy behaviors, and long-term success; Whereas, according to a study by researchers at the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, Loyola University of Chicago, and the University of Illinois at Chicago, SEL programs that addressed the 5 core competencies (self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making) increased academic performance by 11 percentile points, improved the ability of students to manage stress, and improved the attitudes of students about themselves, others, and school; Whereas a study in the Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis found that, on average, for every dollar spent on the evidence-based SEL programs examined, there was an $11 return on investment; Whereas, according to a study published by the American Public Health Association, the development of social and emotional skills in kindergarten has been associated with improved outcomes for young adults later in life, resulting in reduced societal costs for public assistance, public housing, police involvement, and detention; Whereas, in response to a Pew Research Center survey of parents of K–12 students, 66 percent of the parents said that schools teaching children to develop social and emotional skills was very important and another 27 percent of the parents said that such teaching was somewhat important