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Can a new teaching approach keep kids in school and away from opioids?
NCT ID NCT06292078
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests a program called ISLA in 60 middle schools across six states. The program trains teachers to use positive, inclusive strategies instead of suspensions. Researchers will track whether this reduces school exclusions, improves student engagement, and lowers opioid and other substance misuse. Over 5,000 students and teachers will participate.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Inclusive Skill-building Learning Approach (ISLA) - a school-wide behavioral program
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could provide schools with an effective, evidence-based way to reduce suspensions and prevent opioid misuse among middle school students.
- What could go wrong
- This is a large, early-stage effectiveness trial. Results may vary by school, and the program may not work equally well everywhere. It is not a direct medical treatment.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 5,076 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Apr 2024
- Expected to finish
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Oct 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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8 to 15 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Teachers: The educator sample will include all educators within each of the schools. All educators that have regular contact with students (e.g., administrators, teachers, instructional assistants, school counselors) will participate in the school-wide ISLA intervention activities. All educators at both treatment and control schools, if they consent, will provide data through an annual survey administered at three time points: in the spring prior to the first year of ISLA implementation (baseline), in the spring of the first year of ISLA implementation (post-intervention), and in the spring of the second year of ISLA implementation (follow-up). * Inclusion criteria: \* Staff member in either a control or intervention condition school * Exclusion criteria: * None Cohort Students: The student cohort sample will include all students in Grade 7 during the first year of ISLA implementation, who will be followed into Grade 8 during the second year of ISLA implementation (such that data can be collected from the end of Grade 6 to the end of Grade 8). With an average middle school size of 660 students per school, we project the cohort size to be 220 students per school, for a total of 11,880 to 13,200 students. Sub-cohort Students: A random sample of 50 assenting 6th grade students (at the time of baseline data collection) per cohort per school will be selected to provide additional data, for a total of 2,700 to 3,000 students (consent will be gathered from parents/guardians). With the help of each school administrator, the research team will conduct the randomization process using each school's enrollment. School administrators will invite all 6th grade students to participate via recruitment emails to their parents/guardians. A random selection of students will be made from those parents who are consented. * Inclusion Criteria: \* 6th grade students in either intervention or control schools during first data collection period for each wave * Exclusion Criteria: * students who cannot complete the online survey independently (e.g., require assistance beyond text-to-speech files to comprehend the items and available responses) specifically: * students who cannot comprehend written or spoken English or written or spoken Spanish, or * students who are eligible for alternate assessment for statewide achievement testing.
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As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
3 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Riverbend School District
RECRUITINGYuba City, California, 95991, United States
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Salem-Keizer School District
RECRUITINGSalem, Oregon, 97301, United States
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Soquel Union Elementary School District
RECRUITINGCapitola, California, 95010, United States
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