Restorative for All? Racial Disproportionality and School Discipline Under Restorative Justice

2021 ◽  
pp. 000283122110626
Author(s):  
Miles Davison ◽  
Andrew M. Penner ◽  
Emily K. Penner
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Black Students ◽  
Restorative Justice ◽  
School Discipline ◽  
Student Discipline ◽  
Exclusionary Discipline ◽  
Difference In Difference ◽  
Racial Equity ◽  
Racial Disproportionality ◽  
Suspension Rates

A growing number of schools are adopting restorative justice (RJ) practices that de–emphasize exclusionary discipline and aim for racial equity. We examine student discipline as RJ programs matured in Meadowview Public Schools from 2008 to 2017. Our difference–in–difference estimates show that students in RJ schools experienced a profound decline in their suspension rates during the first 5 years of implementation. However, the benefits of RJ were not shared by all students, as disciplinary outcomes for Black students were largely unchanged. While the overall effects of RJ in this context are promising, racial disproportionality widened. Our results suggest that the racial equity intentions of RJ may be diluted as schools integrate RJ into their existing practices.

An Armageddon of Righteousness

2021 ◽  
pp. 167-202
Author(s):  
Zoë Burkholder
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Black Students ◽  
Restorative Justice ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
School Integration ◽  
Racially Diverse ◽  
Qualified Teachers ◽  
Inclusive Schools ◽  
School Financing ◽  
The City

Chapter 5 documents a new and transformative vision of school integration that blended Black nationalist ideals of self-determination with the goal of racially diverse and inclusive schools. Black educational activists maintained that for all of its challenges, integration was the single most effective way to guarantee equal school financing, qualified teachers, advanced courses, and adequate facilities for Black students. This chapter considers two districts where Black educational activists successfully fought for and won integrated schools: the suburban town of Montclair, New Jersey, and the city of Hartford, Connecticut. It also locates strong support for separatism in the form of Afrocentric public schools, which became popular again in the early 1990s. The struggle for northern school integration remains in flux and unresolved—but many Black educational activists continue to advocate for schools that are racially diverse and committed to nurturing and affirming Black identities in institutions with explicit restorative justice frameworks.

Implementing Restorative Justice as a Step toward Racial Equity in School Discipline

2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (14) ◽  
pp. 1-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Cumings Mansfield ◽  
Stacey Rainbolt ◽  
Elizabeth Sutton Fowler
Keyword(s):  
School Leadership ◽  
Restorative Justice ◽  
Final Section ◽  
School Discipline ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Restorative Practices ◽  
Racial Equity ◽  
School Settings ◽  
Disparate Treatment ◽  
American Schools

The purpose of this multimedia research is to provide a blueprint for change that is centered on an alternative disciplinary approach referred to as restorative justice or restorative practices. First, we provide a short overview of the problem of racially based discipline practices in American schools. Then, we share the philosophical underpinnings of restorative justice, describe key components essential to its implementation, and provide links to videos that illustrate the successful implementation of restorative practices in authentic school settings. Thereafter, we offer what we believe is vital for institutional change: understanding the role Whiteness plays in disparate treatment and engaging in anti-racist school leadership. In the final section of the paper, we share specific strategies educators can use to navigate the change processes necessary to work toward racial equity in school discipline.

The Closing Door

2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 747-767 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Paino ◽  
Rebecca L. Boylan ◽  
Linda A. Renzulli
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
Charter Schools ◽  
Black Students ◽  
Charter School ◽  
Educational Inequality ◽  
School Closure ◽  
Traditional Schools ◽  
Racial Equity ◽  
Traditional Public Schools

Charter schools are promoted by policy makers and advocates as a way to reduce educational inequality. Charter schools tend to enroll higher proportions of black students than do traditional public schools. However, the accountability function of charter schools means that these schools are also more likely to close than traditional public schools. A high incidence of closure can lead to educational instability with students moving in and out of charter schools and traditional schools. We use critical race theory to build on prior work, examining the factors that may promote or constrain charter school closure. Specifically, we ask, how do the racial demographics of a charter school affect its likelihood of closure? Our findings reveal that as the proportion of black students in a charter school increases, so too does its likelihood of closings. Our work suggests that the promotion of charter schools as avenues of racial equity may be misleading.

Does the School Nurse Have a Role to Play in School Discipline?

2002 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-53
Author(s):  
Mary H. B. Gelfman
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
School District ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
School Discipline ◽  
School Nurse ◽  
Student Discipline ◽  
Federal State ◽  
History Of ◽  
Disciplinary Procedures ◽  
State And Local

Student discipline has become a subject of increasing concern at local, state, and national levels. This article is a discussion of current federal, state, and local school district legal requirements for student discipline in public schools with examples that illustrate several issues that could or should involve a school nurse. A brief history of the legal developments in school discipline includes key U.S. Supreme Court decisions and Acts of Congress. School district options in policy development and disciplinary procedures are discussed. Some of the discipline incidents include issues of nurse–patient confidentiality.

scholarly journals Disparate use of exclusionary discipline: Evidence on inequities in school discipline from a U.S. state

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaitlin P. Anderson ◽  
Gary W. Ritter
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
Civil Rights ◽  
Black Students ◽  
The United States ◽  
Exclusionary Discipline ◽  
Office For Civil Rights ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Education Status ◽  
To Receive

There is much discussion in the United States about exclusionary discipline (suspensions and expulsions) in schools. According to a 2014 report from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, Black students represent 15% of students, but 44% of students suspended more than once and 36% of expelled students. This analysis uses seven years of individual infraction-level data from public schools in Arkansas. We find that marginalized students are more likely to receive exclusionary discipline, even after controlling for the nature and number of disciplinary referrals, but that most of the differences occur across rather than within schools. Across the state, black students are about 2.4 times as likely to receive exclusionary discipline (conditional on reported infractions and other student characteristics) whereas within school, this same conditional disparity is not statistically significant. Within schools, the disproportionalities in exclusionary discipline are driven primarily by non-race factors such as free- and reduced-price lunch (FRL) eligibility and special education status. We find, not surprisingly, that schools with larger proportions of non-White students tend to give out longer punishments, regardless of school income levels, measured by FRL rates. Combined, these results appear to indicate multiple tiers of disadvantage: race drives most of the disparities across schools, whereas within schools, FRL or special education status may matter more. 

scholarly journals Understanding a Vicious Cycle: The Relationship Between Student Discipline and Student Academic Outcomes

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (5) ◽  
pp. 251-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaitlin P. Anderson ◽  
Gary W. Ritter ◽  
Gema Zamarro
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Academic Outcomes ◽  
Grade Retention ◽  
Student Outcomes ◽  
Student Discipline ◽  
Exclusionary Discipline ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
K 12 ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Disciplinary Referral

While numerous studies have demonstrated a correlation between exclusionary discipline and negative student outcomes, this relationship is likely confounded by other factors related to the underlying misbehavior or risk of disciplinary referral. Using 10 years of student-level demographic, achievement, and disciplinary data from all K–12 public schools in Arkansas, we find that exclusionary consequences are related to worse academic outcomes (e.g., test scores and grade retention) than less exclusionary consequences, controlling for type of behavioral infraction. However, despite controlling for a robust set of covariates, sensitivity checks demonstrate that the estimated relationships between consequences and academic outcomes may still be driven by selection bias into consequence type. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

Health Equity, School Discipline and Restorative Justice

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thalia González ◽  
Alexis Etow ◽  
Cesar De La Vega
Keyword(s):  
Restorative Justice ◽  
Health Equity ◽  
School Discipline

The Intersectionality of Educating Black Students in Michigan: Public School Finance, Racial Segregation, and Housing Policy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phillip Caldwell II ◽  
Jed T. Richardson ◽  
Rajah E. Smart ◽  
Meaghan Polega
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
Black Students ◽  
Housing Policy ◽  
School Finance ◽  
Local Property ◽  
White Student ◽  
Structural Racism ◽  
Percentage Point Increase ◽  
Property Wealth

This research investigates Michigan’s system for funding public schools, particularly for Black students, via critical race theory, focusing on structural racism and discrimination embedded in education finance laws, housing policies, and residential and educational segregation. Our research questions are (i) How does district per-pupil funding in Michigan vary by race and income? (ii) Does variation by race and income depend on whether funding is from state or local sources? (iii) How does district property wealth in Michigan vary by race and income? and (iv) How does the proportion of property wealth Michigan districts commit to local education funding vary by race and income? We find that the average Black student receiving free or reduced-price lunch (FRL) receives $411 less per pupil than the average White student receiving FRL and $783 less per pupil than the average White student who does not receive FRL. These disparities stem entirely from differences in locally sourced district revenues that are the result of vast differences in property wealth. On average, a one-percentage-point increase in a district’s proportion of Black students receiving FRL is associated with a $2,354 decrease in taxable value of property per pupil, implying that a district with all Black students receiving FRL would have $235,400 less taxable value per pupil than a district with no Black students receiving FRL. Through its continued reliance on local property taxation, the school finance system in Michigan is just another example of how laws and policies reinforce structural racism and discrimination against Black students. This study can discern a self-reinforcing system that relegates Blacks to a subordinate socioeconomic status regarding school finance, segregation and housing policy, and discrimination.

scholarly journals Internal Tensions of Building a Dissertation through the Lens of Black Finesse: Toward Decolonizing Higher Education

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 780
Author(s):  
Janiece Zalina Mackey
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Black Students ◽  
Narrative Inquiry ◽  
Knowledge Generation ◽  
Racial Equity ◽  
Dissertation Process

In this paper, I focus on the process of building a dissertation that honored the Black souls of my undergraduate participants along with my own Black soul as a form of resistance to advance racial equity in higher education. Through endarkened narrative inquiry, this paper will address the internal tensions I navigated in building a dissertation that centered Blackness through the prism of what I have conceptualized as Black Finesse. I unveil components from my dissertation that manifested a shift in how knowledge generation can be developed and written. I conceptualized a methodology entitled race-grounded phenomenology (RGP) and call for a re-imagining of qualitative research around the ways Black students navigate higher education. I reflected upon the internal tensions and mental leaps of my dissertation process through theoretical decolonial inquiry. As decolonial praxis to unmake the canon of research and dissertation creation, I lean upon four elements of decolonizing higher education as a way to reimagine decolonial futures that were actualized via my dissertation process.

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