Purpose: The overall purpose of this journal-ready dissertation was to determine the influence of social emotional learning on public schools. The first specific purpose was to describe the school characteristics associated with the presence of social emotional learning for the 2015-2016 and 2017-2018 school years. A second purpose was to determine the extent to which student attendance is related to social emotional learning for the 2015-2016 and the 2017-2018 school years. A third purpose was to ascertain the degree to which disciplinary problems and actions are related to social emotional learning for the 2015-2016 and the 2017-2018 school years. A final purpose was to determine whether consistencies might be present in the relationships of social emotional learning and student academic achievement. Method: A causal comparative research design was used in this dissertation. Archival data from the 2015-2016 and 2017-2018 School Surveys on Crime and Safety were downloaded and analyzed. Findings: Results were inconsistent across the two school years, all three school levels, and across all three articles. In the first study, social emotional learning training was related to elementary students' thoughts on the importance of academic achievement. The presence of social emotional learning training did not have an effect on the public elementary schools' location, student attendance or discipline problems and actions. In the second study, statistically significant differences were present in respect to urbanicity and middle school students' thoughts on academic achievement. The presence of social emotional learning training was related to urbanicity and middle school students' thoughts on the importance of academic achievement. Social emotional learning training was not related to the public middle schools' student attendance or discipline problems and actions. In the third study, statistically significant differences were present regarding urbanicity, discipline problems and actions, and high school students' thoughts on academic achievement. Social emotional learning training was related to urbanicity, discipline problems and actions, and high school students' thoughts on the importance of academic achievement. Social emotional learning training was not related to the public high schools' student attendance. Results from the three articles were congruent with existing literature. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]