text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Academic, Social, and Emotional 
  Learning Act of 2011''.
  
  SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
  
      The Congress makes the following findings:
              (1) To succeed in school, students need to be engaged. They 
          need to know how to maintain focus and effort in the face of 
          setbacks, work effectively with others, and be good 
          communicators and problem-solvers.
              (2) Social and emotional skills form a foundation for young 
          people's success not just in school, but as healthy and caring 
          adults, productive workers, and engaged citizens.
              (3) Not only can these skills be taught, they can be taught 
          by regular classroom teachers in schools of every type to 
          students of every background.
              (4) Academic outcomes resulting from social and emotional 
          learning include greater motivation to learn and commitment to 
          school, increased time devoted to schoolwork and mastery of 
          subject matter, improved attendance, graduation rates, grades, 
          and test scores.
              (5) These positive outcomes increase in students who are 
          involved in social and emotional learning programming by an 
          average of 11 percentile points over students who are not 
          involved in such programming.
              (6) Social and emotional learning programming also results 
          in reduced problem behavior, improved health outcomes, a lower 
          rate of violent delinquency, and a lower rate of heavy alcohol 
          use.
  
  SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT.
  
      (a) Teacher and Principal Training and Recruiting Fund.--Part A of 
  title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
  U.S.C. 6601 et seq.) is amended--
              (1) in section 2113(c)(2)--
                      (A) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph 
                  (A);
                      (B) by striking the period at the end of 
                  subparagraph (B) and insert ``; and''; and
                      (C) by adding at the end the following:
                      ``(C) train teachers and principals in practices 
                  that have demonstrated effectiveness in improving 
                  student achievement, attainment, and behavior through 
                  addressing the social and emotional development needs 
                  of students, such as through social and emotional 
                  learning programming.''; and
              (2) in section 2123(a)(3)(B)(iii)--
                      (A) by striking ``and'' at the end of (I);
                      (B) by redesignating subclause (II) as subclause 
                  (III); and
                      (C) by inserting after subclause (I) the following:
                                      ``(II) addressing the social and 
                                  emotional development needs of students 
                                  to improve student achievement and 
                                  attainment, such as through social and 
                                  emotional learning programming; and''.
      (b) Definitions.--Section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary 
  Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801) is amended by adding at the end 
  the following:
              ``(44) Social and emotional learning.--The term `social and 
          emotional learning' means the process through which children 
          and adults acquire the knowledge, attitudes, and skills 
          associated with the core areas of social and emotional 
          competency, including--
                      ``(A) self-awareness and self-management to achieve 
                  school and life success, such as identifying and 
                  recognizing strengths, needs, emotions, values and 
                  self-efficacy, impulse control and stress management, 
                  self-motivation and discipline, and goal setting and 
                  organizational skills;
                      ``(B) social awareness and interpersonal skills to 
                  establish and maintain positive relationships, such as 
                  perspective taking and respect for others, 
                  communication, working cooperatively, negotiation, 
                  conflict management, and help seeking; and
                      ``(C) decisionmaking skills and responsible 
                  behaviors in personal, academic and community contexts, 
                  such as situational analysis, problem solving, 
                  reflection and personal, and social and ethical 
                  responsibility.
              ``(45) Social and emotional learning programming.--The term 
          `social and emotional learning programming' refers to classroom 
          instruction and schoolwide activities and initiatives that--
                      ``(A) integrate social and emotional learning into 
                  school curriculum;
                      ``(B) provide systematic instruction whereby social 
                  and emotional skills are taught, modeled, practiced, 
                  and applied so that students use them as part of their 
                  daily behavior;
                      ``(C) teach children to apply social and emotional 
                  skills to prevent specific problem behaviors such as 
                  substance use, violence, bullying, and school failure, 
                  and to promote positive behaviors in class, school, and 
                  community activities; and
                      ``(D) establish safe and caring learning 
                  environments that foster student participation, 
                  engagement, and connection to learning and school.''.
target: Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning Act of 2011 - Amends title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to include teacher and principal training in practices that address the social and emotional development needs of students among the activities funded under the Teacher and Principal Training and Recruiting Fund program.
  
  Allows funded training to include training in classroom instruction and schoolwide initiatives that enable students to acquire the knowledge, attitudes, and skills most conducive to social and emotional competency.
feat_title: To support evidence-based social and emotional learning programming.