Why Restorative Justice Is About More Than Reducing Suspensions

After a period of backpack searches and police pepper-spraying students, Students Deserve, a youth-led activist group, pushed for the Los Angeles Unified School District to withdraw all funding for school police and divert it to mental health support for Black students. The school board approved a plan to cut one third of the school police budget, roughly around $25 million, and instead use it to fund “221 psychiatric social workers, counselors, “climate coaches,” and restorative justice advisers to schools with the highest number of Black students.”

Across the country enrollment in online charter schools is disproportionately white, except in one state- Colorado. In Oregon, the opposite is true. This article compares what factors differentiate the state of Colorado versus the state of Oregon in terms of enrollment in charter schools along racial lines. Some differences include a larger diverse population in the state of Colorado, alternative schools that target at-risk students, and a larger team devoted to overseeing charter schools.

Studies show that abstinence-based prevention drug programs like D.A.R.E don't work. To provide another option, the Drug Policy Alliance, a non-profit, developed its own curriculum called “Safety First.” The 15-lesson curriculum was piloted in five schools under the San Francisco Unified School District.

In St. Paul, Minnesota, the St. Paul school district switched from a letter grade structure to a pass/fail system. A trend that was seen across other districts in the states. The move came after the pandemic resulted in an increase in students failing classes across the district and was part of a “do no harm” philosophy. Data shows the change helped some students and some said they felt more supported. The move is part of a larger effort the district is trying to prevent students from failing like credit recovery.

Washburn High School in Minneapolis is taking a different approach for in-school safety, one that doesn't rely on a police presence. The school district ended its contract with the Minneapolis Police Department and replaces School Resource Officers with civilian safety specialists, who are not uniformed, armed, and have no power of arrest. Instead, the specialists provide more community-centered services to visiting students who were disconnected, aiding with food distribution, and evaluate school safety plans.

The movement to promote science education and careers among people who are currently or formerly incarcerated is making slow but real progress. Programs like the National Science Foundation's STEM Opportunities in Prison Settings, and the restoration of Pell Grants in prisons, provide institutional support. But progress can be seen in smaller programs like the Prison Mathematics Project, begun by an incarcerated math whiz whose Italian mathematician mentor inspired him to overcome barriers to education. Another sign of progress: More states are "banning the box" in college applications.

Every Wednesday, the Culture Team at Achievement Preparatory Academy in Washington, D.C. makes house calls to help battle chronic absenteeism. The team celebrates some students for improvements and perfect attendance, helps motivate others who are falling behind, and maintains contact with others who just need a little push.

Middle school teachers in San Antonio, Texas, have resorted to home visits and "nudging," meaning they leave notices for parents at the door with information about consequences, at the first sign of students disengaging from classes or schoolwork. Two teachers go door-to-door to interact with students, and their parents or guardians, to find out why students are not logging on to their remote classes or completing their homework. They also help deliver groceries, or other essential supplies depending on the student's need. The approach has paid off and the teacher has averaged 99% attendance in class.

Evictions can have devastating effects on a student’s access to education, forcing some to drop out of school. In Delhi, a city in India, a school was built by students, community members, and volunteers using locally-sourced materials. The community had been forcibly removed from their homes, and the students were left without a school.

In Boston, four organizations that serve Black and Latino families formed an alliance to provide low-cost learning pods to students of color. Run out of two churches, the full-day learning pods “serve nearly two dozen kindergarten through sixth-grade students.” The service comes at a crucial time, since pandemic learning is leaving behind students of color who already were at a disadvantage.