Pursuant to Missouri Senate Bill 638, Section 161.1050, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has established the Trauma-Informed Schools Initiative.

Trauma-informed schools are schools that:

• realize the widespread impact of trauma and understands potential paths for recovery;
• recognize the signs and symptoms of trauma in students, teachers and staff;
• respond by fully integrating knowledge about trauma into policies, procedures and practices; and
• seek to actively resist retraumatization.