In 2023, MA DESE released an updated Comprehensive Health and Physical Education (CHPE) Curriculum Framework that provides standards and guidance for effective CHPE programs. This guide is intended to provide districts with an overview of how available CHPE curricula align with the CHPE Framework.

This report distills the collective expertise of leading researchers and practitioners from the nation's most rigorously evaluated student support models. By analyzing successful interventions, the working group identified the core practices essential for high-quality implementation. This resource serves as a framework to help schools and communities build effective, comprehensive systems that address the holistic needs of every student.

Session materials from DESE’s 2019 MTSS Leadership Institute. Note: Some materials are based on the 2018 Massachusetts MTSS Blueprint which was updated in 2025.

Use this series of fact sheets to refine tiered supports for student social emotional development and mental wellbeing. Topics include the research basis, student identification, data use, and educator wellbeing.

The revised Safe and Supportive Schools Implementation Guide & Self-Reflection Tool provides an inquiry-based year-long or multi-year process to document current practices that support students` behavioral health ranging from the whole school community to individual students that require more intensive supports.

Access session materials from the 2018 LEA event on topics including creating a pipeline of diverse educators, developing multi-tiered systems of support, equitable access to high quality curriculum, bilingual education, ensuring racial and cultural equity, effectively engaging families, student mobility, approaches to addressing students’ mental health needs, integrating social emotional and academic learning, and more.

DESE’s October 2019 Leading with Access & Equity Conference had a great line-up of sessions! Access all conference materials here.

The update 2025 Massachusetts MTSS Blueprint unpacks MTSS from three perspectives: why it is important, what it entails, and how to approach implementation. It reflects a holistic view of student development and MTSS implementation lessons from the field and research.

The School Climate Survey Suite is a set of four multidimensional surveys to measure student, teacher, administrator, faculty, and family perceptions of school climate. The surveys are brief, reliable, and valid for assessing perceived school climate among students in Grades 3-12. The manual was updated 2022 (Version 2).

These free training modules for educators are part of the Clough Foundation Training and Access Project (TAP) Online series, which offers free courses designed to build the capacity of school communities to address social-emotional learning and behavioral health. TAP is a part of the Boston Children’s Hospital Neighborhood Partnerships Program (BCHNP). 

Concise guide - updated in 2025 - that provides positive behavior support practices, a self-assessment tool and classroom decision-making chart, and classroom-based practice examples organized by topic, e.g., setting expectations, developing routines, using behavior-specific praise, responding to problem behavior, collecting and using behavior data, etc.

There are many social emotional learning programs out there! These two guides provide detailed information for more than 40 SEL programs for PK-12 school and out-of-school time settings.