Racially Sensitive ‘Restorative’ School Discipline Isn’t Behaving Very WellAre schools racially biased in suspending a higher percentage of blacks, or are these students misbehaving more often than whites?
By Vince Bielski
April 9, 2022
The fight outside North High School in Denver was about to turn more violent as one girl wrapped a bike chain around her fist to strike the other. Just before the attacker used the weapon, school staff arrived and restrained her, ending the fight but not the story.
Most high schools would have referred the chain-wielding girl to the police. But North High brought the two girls together to resolve the conflict through conversation. Feeling less hostile after figuring out the backstory, the girls did not fight again.
This alternative method of discipline, called “restorative practices,” is spreading across the country—and being put to the test, amid sharp increases in school violence.
Long pushed by racial justice groups, the method aims to curb suspensions and arrests that disproportionately affect students of color. It replaces punishment with discussions about the causes and harmful impact of misbehavior. The hope is that students will learn from their misdeeds and form healthier relationships with peers and teachers, making violence less likely.
Orange County, California, is expanding the program into 32 schools, and Iowa City has started its own. Many other large districts—including Baltimore, Chicago, Kansas City, Miami, New York City, Oakland, Pittsburgh, Seattle and Washington, D.C.—have introduced it in recent years.
Denver, which has pioneered restorative practices and inspired districts to follow its lead, seems a good place to ask: Is the kinder approach working? Yes and no, and often the answer depends on the eye of the beholder. Suspensions have fallen significantly, in keeping with the intent of the changed discipline policy. But fighting and other serious incidents have not meaningfully declined, the district says. Other cities have reported similar outcomes, according to evaluations and school leaders.
Critics point to the massacre in Parkland, Florida, as an example of what can go wrong. Nikolas Cruz, who killed 17 fellow students and staff members in 2018, was able to stay in school—and pass a background check to purchase the weapon he used—because the district addressed his violent behavior before the shooting through counseling instead of referring him to authorities.
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Source:
https://amgreatness.com/2022/04/09/racially-sensitive-restorative-school-discipline-isnt-behaving-very-well/
