Senate passes Breen bill to promote Maine children’s social and emotional well-being

Sen. Cathy Breen, D-Falmouth.

AUGUSTA — The Maine Senate on Wednesday passed legislation from Sen. Cathy Breen, D-Falmouth, that would improve social and emotional health of children, which research has shown can impact them for the rest of their lives.

“Giving kids a strong, healthy start in life can set them up for success for the rest of their lives — this includes their physical, mental, social and emotional well-being. At the same time, failing to do so can have long-lasting effects on a child’s life,” said Sen. Breen. “I’m glad that this bill was supported by my colleagues in the Senate.”

LD 997, “An Act To Promote Social and Emotional Learning and Development for Young Children,” would create a statewide voluntary early childhood consultation program that would support parents and teachers in the classroom with consultants who have advanced training in mental health and child development. Early childhood consults are voluntary and are designed to prevent, identify, treat and mitigate the impact of challenging behaviors. The service would be available to elementary teachers, child care staff, Head Start teachers, and families of children up to age 8.

Maine has the second highest rate of preschool student expulsions in the United States, and a survey of  471 early childhood educators in Maine found that 92 percent have had at least one child exhibiting persistent challenging behavior, such as hitting, throwing things, and refusing to cooperate, in a twelve month period. Expulsions based on these behaviors can lead to the student missing out on the benefits of school and the evaluations and services that may come with it, and can cause significant problems for parents, including employment loss. These factors can perpetuate the child’s behavioral problems. Research has shown that the number one predictor for expulsion from school is previous expulsion. Of the early childhood educators surveyed, almost 60 percent indicated they would welcome the type of support in preventing expulsions provided by this bill.

Social-emotional learning refers to a child’s ability to manage and express his/her emotions appropriately, and build and maintain relationships with others. Examples include taking turns, tolerating frustration, following directions, playing with peers, and self-regulation. These social and emotional capacities emerge at the same time children’s cognitive, language, and motor skills develop in the brain and are equally important.

The Legislature approved a similar bill last year but it was vetoed by Gov. Paul LePage. LD 997 will now go to Gov. Janet Mills, who has 10 days to either sign it, veto it, or allow it to become law without her signature.