A Legislator’s Guide to the Learning Policy Institute’s Whole Child Toolkit

Education

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The whole child approach to education uses policies that foster safe, healthy learning environments where all students can thrive and achieve academic success. A whole child-centered education encompasses all areas of student development and learning. This approach includes school climate, student mental health, social-emotional learning, workforce skill-building, out-of-school learning opportunities and adult capacity building.

The Learning Policy Institute (LPI) designed the Whole Child Policy Toolkit to provide state policymakers and education leaders with strategies, tools and resources related to whole child policy. The toolkit is regularly updated and comes out of work from the Whole Child Policy Table, whose members include state-facing membership organizations, researchers and policy groups that work on whole child education issues.

This guide offers a condensed overview of the Whole Child Policy Toolkit, introducing the key concepts and structure of the larger document. It also provides policy examples that may not be found in the toolkit. Within the toolkit, one will find in-depth definitions, practical examples and additional resources to assist in navigating whole child policy thoroughly.

After defining whole child policy, the toolkit focuses on five policy elements:

Under each of these sections, the toolkit provides an overview of the policy element.

Setting a Whole Child Vision

This section of the toolkit emphasizes the importance of states’ adopting a comprehensive vision for the well-being and development of children. The section highlights that having this shared vision, created through collaboration with diverse stakeholders, can help to promote a systemic approach to meeting the needs of every child. The section concludes by stating that policymakers can do the following to set a whole child vision:

Convene a diverse set of stakeholders.
Assess conditions for learning and development.
Establish coordinating bodies to advance the whole child vision.

State Policy Examples

Illinois HB 342 (2023): Establishes the Children’s Adversity Index, mandating Illinois’ state board of education create a comprehensive index to assess instances of childhood trauma within the 3 to 19 age group. Furthermore, HB 342 integrates proposals outlined by the Whole Child Task Force, a collaborative effort comprising child psychologists, educators, administrators, and state agency representatives, designed to enhance supportive settings for all students. This legislation also introduces instructional workshops for teachers, centered around cultivating trauma-informed learning environments and addressing holistic child requirements.
Louisianna HR 173 (2022): Creates the Student Behavior, Mental Health, and Discipline Task Force to study improving certain policies and data relative to student behavior and discipline. The study scope includes trauma-informed services for K-12 students, the feasibility of certain school psychologists and social worker ratios, and various aspects of student discipline, including corporal punishment and “zero tolerance” practices.

Transforming Learning Environments

This section highlights the value of providing high-quality expanded learning time. Expanded learning time opportunities can include high-quality tutoring, afterschool and summer learning programs, and early learning programs. In this section, policymakers can read a quick overview of the policy strategy, watch a video on connecting school and afterschool with shared practices, and get examples of policy actions that may be of interest to them.

State Policy Examples

California AB 2598 (2022): Requires the state department of education to develop best practices for school districts to improve campus culture and climate through restorative justice practices. The department has until June 1, 2024, to develop evidence-based best practices and make them available on the department’s website for use by the local education agencies.
Colorado HB 22-1376 (2022): Updates the state’s policies, practices and data frameworks to better measure and support positive school climates. It requires the state education department to gather data and create accessible, annually updated reports with consistent data concerning chronic absenteeism, suspensions, expulsions and the number of students handcuffed or restrained, among other indicators of school climate.
New Jersey AB 3529 (pending): Establishes a pilot program in the state department of education to address school climate issues related to harassment, intimidation and bullying in public schools.

Redesigning Curriculum, Instruction, Assessments and Accountability

Each section provides a vast number of resources and state examples. This section looks at Rhode Island’s Personalized Learning Initiative (2016), which was launched with the goal of supporting, accelerating and expanding student-centered K-12 learning in the state. The initiative requires high schools and middle schools to provide individualized learning plans to students, multiple opportunities for students to demonstrate proficiency, ongoing and formative assessments, and personalized learning opportunities.

State Policy Examples

Idaho HB 172 (2021): Amends existing law to allow students to receive credit for extended learning opportunities or by demonstrating prior knowledge of a content area.
Alabama HB 486 (2021): Allows students to request and receive credit for participation in extended learning opportunities.
North Dakota SB 2196 (2021): Allows for personalized learning experiences, with the aim of encouraging school districts to integrate core curriculum and career and technical education programs.
Washington SB 5249 (2021): Supports mastery-based learning.

Building Adult Capacity and Expertise

Resources are linked throughout the toolkit and can often be found at the end of a policy strategy section. The resources can be briefs, journals, webinars and more. A few of the resources in this section include:

Addressing Teacher Shortages: Investing in a Strong Educator Workforce (link is external)(EdPrepLab, webinar).
Preparing Wisconsin Teachers: Research and Recommendations for Licensure and Program Approval (Learning Policy Institute, report).
Preparing School Leaders for Crises (National Association of State Boards of Education, brief).

State Policy Examples

Colorado SB 258 (2023): Requires the state board to adopt requirements for educator preparation programs, which must include structured clinical experiences and training in behavioral health and using culturally responsive and trauma- and evidence-informed practices.
New Mexico HB 13 (2022): Directs the department of education to establish and maintain teacher residency programs; provides $35,000 stipends for teacher residents.
Hawaii HB 1223 (pending): Establishes a loan program for teachers who agree to teach full time for a specified number of years in the public school system in a hard-to-fill position, including special education, regular education shortage categories or Title 1 schools, and in one of the specified capacities; appropriates funds.
Washington HB 1565 (pending): Establishes the beginning educator support team program to improve beginning educator quality and retention; provides for mentors for teachers in their first three years and defines mentors’ responsibilities and qualifications.

Investing Resources Equitably and Efficiently

Each policy strategy section includes a link to the State Policy Library, which has additional examples of the policy covered in that section. Followed the policy library link in this section, legislators can look at policy examples concerning the digital divide from California, Tennessee and Ohio. In April 2020, California established a task force overseeing the state’s Bridging the Digital Divide Fund, a joint effort of the governor’s office, state board of education and department of education. Starting in 2017, Tennessee’s Broadband Accessibility Act program began allocating funding to provide internet and Wi-Fi access to underserved communities in the state. In 2020, Ohio announced that it would set aside $50 million in federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act funding to provide hotspots and internet-enabled devices to students.

Related: the Learning Policy Institute’s Whole Child Policy: Investing Resources Equitably and Efficiently webinar

State Policy Examples

Delaware HCR 88 (2022): Encourages the General Assembly to prioritize funding for social-emotional learning in schools. It also encourages collaboration among the state education department and other stakeholders to promote the use of SEL in school districts and charter schools and identify additional opportunities where the integration of SEL and academic instruction could be beneficial.
Washington HB 1664 (2022): Uses a formula to increase the minimum allocations for nurses, social workers, psychologists and counselors in school funding models over three years. The measure also designates certain staff positions as physical, social and emotional support staff and provides funding based on ratios of these staffers.

Resources and Tools

This section has links to the State Policy Library, Resource Library, Related Initiatives, Acknowledgements and About the Whole Child Policy Table sections. In the State Policy Library section, the policies can be searched by state and/or policy element. In the Resource Library section, the resources can be searched by type (article, case study, data, etc.) and policy element. If a state policy example or resource is missing, there is a form available for updates.

There is also a section for Related Initiatives, which looks at other initiatives that are working on whole child policy issues. These initiatives include:

The SoLD Alliance, which aims to improve awareness and understanding of the science of learning and development.
Design Principles for Schoolsand Design Principles for Community-Based Settings, which are playbooks providing practicing educators with guiding principles for equitable whole child design in K-12 and community-based learning environments.
Educator Preparation Laboratory (EdPrepLab), which aims to strengthen educator preparation in the United States by building the collaborative capacity of preparation programs.

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Related Resources

Updated September 13, 2023

Whole Child Policy Advisory Group Resources

Whole child education refers to a comprehensive approach taken to prioritize the overall well-being and development of students, going beyond academic achievement alone. These policies aim to acknowledge the diverse needs of students and prioritize the importance of addressing their physical, mental and emotional health, as well as fostering social and emotional learning.

Education

Updated September 11, 2023

Supporting Student Success Through Afterschool Programs

Before- and after-school programs occur before the school day begins and from 3-6 p.m. on weekday afternoons. They can offer a range of diverse programming including academic support, homework help, mentoring, field trips, physical education and arts and cultural enrichment.

Education

Map

Table

Updated September 11, 2023

Summer Learning Programs

There is an important distinction between remedial summer school and enrichment programs. Traditionally, summer school was seen as a way for students to catch up on failed classes through intensive instruction.

Education

Table

Resource A Legislator’s Guide to the Learning Policy Institute’s Whole Child Toolkit

Setting a Whole Child Vision

State Policy Examples

Transforming Learning Environments

State Policy Examples

Redesigning Curriculum, Instruction, Assessments and Accountability

State Policy Examples

Building Adult Capacity and Expertise

State Policy Examples

Investing Resources Equitably and Efficiently

State Policy Examples

Resources and Tools

Contact NCSL

Related Resources

Whole Child Policy Advisory Group Resources

Supporting Student Success Through Afterschool Programs

Summer Learning Programs

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