Bill > S2486

Introduced Session

The Clayton Model was developed in the Clayton School District in Gloucester County and is a responsive, trauma-informed intervention program used to promote student development and success. The Clayton Model has been shown to improve significantly students' social and emotional health, academic performance, and caregivers' supports. This bill would create a five-year pilot program in the Department of Education to expand the Clayton Model to 10 public schools in each of three counties. The Commissioner of Education will select either Morris or Sussex County to represent the northern area of the State and either Middlesex or Ocean County to represent the central area of the State. Under the bill, Gloucester County will represent the southern area of the State. The commissioner will establish a steering committee that will be responsible for providing accountability and guidance on policies and practices associated with the implementation of the pilot program. The steering committee will include the following members: a representative of the Department of Education; two members of the public with expertise in issues related to the work of the steering committee, one appointed by the Senate President and one appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly; the Superintendent of Schools of the Clayton School District; the Director of the Child Connection Center; and a representative of the Senator Walter Rand Institute for Public Affairs at Rutgers University-Camden appointed by the commissioner upon the recommendation of the institute. Under the pilot program, the Clayton School District will serve as the model site, support the accurate communication of the model to administrators and teachers in schools participating in the pilot program, and design and conduct the training for county-level social emotional learning coordinators. The county special services school district in each of the counties selected for participation in the pilot program will be responsible for the management of the social emotional learning programming in its county. These districts will hire the social emotional learning coordinators at the county level who will be responsible for training and organizing the placement of social emotional learning specialists, such as social workers, behavioral health care providers, or other social emotional learning professionals, who will provide the social emotional learning supports at the school level. The Senator Walter Rand Institute will be responsible for developing and implementing a comprehensive evaluation of the pilot program that will include a cost-benefit analysis. A report of the results of the evaluation will be provided to the Commissioner of Education and members of the steering committee no later than six months following the conclusion of the pilot program. After receipt of the evaluation from the institute, the commissioner will report to the Governor and to the Legislature on the implementation and effectiveness of the pilot program, and will include in the report a recommendation on the advisability of the program's continuation and expansion to additional public schools in the State.

Committee Categories

Pam Lampitt (D)*,  Stephen Sweeney (D)*,  Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D)*,  Linda Greenstein (D),  Mila Jasey (D), 

Approved P.L.2021, c.85. (on 05/11/2021)

Official Document