We would like to share a short recap and update on the recent midterms and possible impact on SEL advocacy (Thanks to our friends at Committee for Children for providing the information):
- Republicans took the House with narrow margins (220-213). Rep Virginia Foxx (R-NC-05) will likely serve as Chair of the Education Committee with Rep Bobby Scott (D-VA-03). Rep Kay Granger (R-TX-12) will chair the appropriations committee with Rep Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) as the ranking member.
- Democrats held the Senate also with narrow margins (51-49 after Georgia’s run-off election). Sen Bernie Sanders (I-VT) will chair the Education committee with Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) as the ranking member. Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) will chair appropriations with Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) as the ranking member.
- With their new majority, the House GOP will have a guaranteed seat at the table to negotiate their priorities for the first time during the Biden Administration. We will likely see gridlock, and SEL is not likely to be a popular term with the new House majority, though there is still support for the concept of SEL.
- Republicans will get to show support for issues like school choice and parental rights now that they set the education priority agenda in the house. They are expected to prioritize attacks on Biden’s student loan program and transgender participation in high school and college athletics.
- There were mixed results at the state level. In Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, and Nebraska, several candidates for school board who opposed SEL during their campaigns lost.
- But anti-SEL candidates won seats with lots of campaign rhetoric and policy around banning SEL in states like Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.
We will be hosting a SEL Legislative & Advocacy Training on January 19, 2023. Registration coming soon!
