Nebraska school uses COVID funding for social and emotional learning, to combat mental health issues

foxnews.com:

Omaha, Nebraska public schools are employing $460,000 in federal funding allocated for COVID-19 relief to invest in social emotional learning (SEL) throughout the district, a practice that is popping up across the state and the country, Parents Defending Education found. "The pandemic’s impact has taken a toll on students in particular, contributing to an increase in mental health problems since 2020, according to statewide and national data," the Omaha World-Herald reported earlier this month. "Nebraska districts, and schools across the U.S., are using the federal money to hire more mental health specialists, roll out new coping tools and expand social and emotional learning (SEL) curriculum, which prioritizes emotional health." The move coincides with growing nationwide concerns that COVID-19 educational policies hindered the social and emotional wellbeing of students, concerns that sparked widespread parental outrage.

Social emotional learning has come under fire, and Parents Defending Education, a parents rights advocacy group, said while the term sounds innocuous, it has recently morphed into "Transformative SEL," which it said is "basically race and gender ideology embedded into what had previously been neutral student competencies." "SEL effectively asks teachers to act as therapists." Parents Defending Education said on its website.