HARTFORD–Sen. Richard Blumenthal was joined by the mother of a victim of the Sandy Hook tragedy, as well as dozens of others, to celebrate a major victory for education.
Last month Congress approved the Every Student Achieves Act, which adds financial support for social and emotional learning.
Scarlett Lewis, Jesse Lewis’ mother, has been a huge advocate for this type of educational training for teachers, and led the push for the Jesse Lewis Empowering Educators Act, which Blumenthal proposed. The act was written to provide professional development funding for teachers to learn how to impart essential skills to students, specifically emotional and social skills. Much of that act’s language ended up in the Every Student Achieves Act.
“It seems obvious to any parent, but all too often, and in fact for years and years, the educational profession perhaps has minimized the importance of this training,” Blumenthal said.
The senator said the responsibility now falls on local and state districts to apply for the more than $2 billion set aside in the federal bill.
