Could restorative justice be a solution to Jefferson City's school discipline issues?
As part of the readers' questions series, Jefferson City Board of Education candidates were asked: "With overcrowding issues, alternate discipline options need to be considered so our students are honored and feel heard. Are you willing to consider a trial of restorative justice in our school?"
Reader Rebecca Bax submitted the query.
Restorative justice emphasizes mediation, victim awareness, trust-building, restitution, empathy and accountability. It relies upon a set of principles and practices to build community and respond to student misconduct, with the goal of repairing harm and restoring relationships between the people impacted. However, it places less emphasis on, and can even eliminate, standard high school punishments.
In places like Oakland, Chicago, Denver and Portland, it has been used to lower suspension rates and to foster positive school climates with the goal of eliminating racially disproportionate discipline practices.
Supporters believe it causes offenders to confront and address their own behavior; critics decry it leads to even less school discipline.
Michael County, juvenile court administrator at the Prenger Family Center, supports restorative justice. He believes a model recommended by the Department of Justice can be implemented successfully in Jefferson City.
"This model empowers students to recommend the discipline for fellow peers who have violated rules defined by the district and the local juvenile court," Couty wrote. "Teen/Student Court is a prevention, intervention program for first-time offenders. The school district and the local juvenile court must work together and develop protocols or guidelines outlining the type of offenses that will be managed at the school and those that would be referred to juvenile court."
Problems such as peace disturbance, truancy, misdemeanor stealing and simple assault without injury could be managed by the district. Issues such as repeat offenses, situations that cause injury to others and felony stealing would be referred to juvenile court.
Couty added intensive training of students, teachers, staff and administrators is vital for success.
"I would recommend that the district begin the program at the middle school to fully develop and work out the kinks and then move it along to the high school as a natural progression," he wrote. "The district staff, along with students and parents, would receive intensive training on courtroom procedures for all positions such as judge, prosecutor, defense and jury.
"This model has been used and found to be successful in many school districts."
Candidate Pam Murray said the concept of restorative justice, where those wronged are made whole through a restitution process, is compatible with her basic beliefs.
"I feel it is important for youth to always feel they can have a second chance, that there is a path to "redemption,'" Murray wrote. "That path has consequences that must be faced and actions that must be completed, as much for learning as for punishment. When a student has violated a rule they should, along with those directly affected, define the steps that need to be taken to return the student to good graces.
"When done as part of a caring environment, everyone is the better for it."
However, she noted restorative justice should be an option and not mandatory.
"For example, if a student is faced with what would ordinarily be a suspension or other punishment alone, it must be the choice of the parents and the student to take a restorative justice route," she said. "The law gives all students certain privacy rights, and those rights must be waived to involve others such as those who were wronged by the student's actions. That may be other students, teachers or staff."
Dan Renfrow suggested it's not a simple concept to introduce.
"It is a major change in how we currently run our classrooms," he wrote. "It requires a district-wide commitment, funding, additional time commitment from teachers to run the program and additional staff training. To successfully implement restorative justice would require the administration and staff to buy in to its benefits."
Renfrow said he'd support the process of evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of restorative justice and presenting those to administrators and staff for further consideration.
Adrian Hendricks II called the idea "a fascinating concept in the pursuit of better practice and the development of a student-centered learning community.
"Zero-tolerance policies have been found lacking in effectiveness," he said, adding they impede the learning of troubled students who need more classroom time, not less.
Hendricks wrote: "The concept of peer circles, conferencing and mediation models are non-punitive strategies that can focus on healing student behavior and developing appropriate action plans.
"A restorative justice center within our school would be a cutting-edge model of collaboration among student and staff," he added. "In an effort to combat school suspensions and other options that ultimately remove the student from the learning environment, restorative justice provides an option for students to form caring communities with the intent to solve problems together."
Hendricks said such a strategy could help troubled students learn to communicate effectively. He noted schools around the country that have tried it reported 30 percent reductions in expulsions.
A restorative justice strategy can help troubled students learn skills in effective communication and developing empathy, he said, and schools around the country that have tried it have reported reductions in expulsion rates and other violent interactions.
"We must keep in mind that we are either preparing students for college, career or inadvertently pushing them closer to criminal activity," Hendricks concluded.
Joy Sweeney wrote: "Anything that empowers youth deserves consideration in my opinion; however, it is imperative that we examine the process objectively."
She said research has provided varying results regarding the efficacy of restorative justice.
She noted some of the research demonstrates it empowers and promotes respect and responsibility among students. The research also indicates a stronger sense of community and a reduction in conflicts and bullying. Districts that have adopted it have also seen lower suspension and expulsion rates.
"Overall, research demonstrates students feel happier and safer with the implementation of restorative justice in their schools. I definitely support all of these aspects of student experience!" she wrote.
Sweeney said she'd be willing to experiment with it in the district.
"However, as with everything, the devil is in the details," she added. "Effective implementation ... is critical. I personally have seen some of the derogatory aspects first hand at the college level, in which the consequence designated by the restorative justice panel did not coincide with the behavior, and this is a critical element that must be considered in the implementation process," she cautioned.
"There are many behavioral aspects and equity concerns that must be considered in implementation of restorative justice. We must be cognizant of the challenges as well as the opportunities to ensure effective implementation."