Student Well-Being Video

What’s Behind the Political Criticisms of Social-Emotional Learning?

By Jennifer Vilcarino & Jaclyn Borowski — April 1, 2025 2:02
Students from Suelllen Vesperman’s first grade class dance to the Macarena as they participate in an exercise through the InPACT program at North Elementary School in Birch Run, Mich., on March 2, 2023.

The Trump administration has expressed concern that social-emotional learning is being used to mask discrimination in schools.

While it once enjoyed bipartisan support from the government and was widely accepted by education professionals, SEL faced growing scrutiny during the COVID-19 pandemic. Critics claimed that SEL brought “divisive” subjects into classrooms and advocated for its removal. More recently, SEL has been associated with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in schools.

Despite this pushback, advocates emphasize that SEL can be used in different ways, and some experts believe SEL may be difficult to eliminate entirely.

Here is a look at what SEL is, and what the Trump administration’s concerns could mean for its future in schools.

See Also

Deeper learning prepares students to work collaboratively and direct their own learning.
There has been an uptick in political pushback against social-emotional learning, with the Education Department recently saying some schools "have sought to veil discriminatory policies" with terms like SEL.
Allison Shelley for All4Ed

Jennifer Vilcarino is a digital news reporter for Education Week.
Jaclyn Borowski is the director of photography and videography for Education Week.

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