Alternative To Suspension And Expulsion

Posted by NPR on January 26, 2015

The Oakland Unified School District in California is at the forefront of a new approach to school misconduct and discipline, reports Eric Westervelt for NPR. Instead of suspending or expelling students who get into fights or act out, restorative justice seeks to resolve conflicts and build school community through talking and group dialogue. Proponents say it could lessen the cycle of disruption and suspension, especially in minority communities where expulsion rates are higher than in predominantly white schools. Oakland is one of California’s largest districts, one-third African-American and more than 70 percent low-income. The restorative justice program was expanded after a federal civil rights agreement in 2012 to reduce school discipline inequity for African-American students. The district says new, as-yet unpublished research shows the percentage of students suspended at schools fully adopting the program has dropped by half, from 34 percent in 2011-12 to just 14 percent the following two years. They say the data show chronic absence is down dramatically and graduation rates are up, and that at two sites last year, disproportionate discipline of African-American students was eliminated. Several other urban districts are trying some version of the approach, including Chicago; Minneapolis; Palm Beach County, Fla.; and Denver, though there is no agreement yet on how best to implement these programs.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/ed/2014/12/17/347383068/an-alternative-to-suspension-and-expulsion-circle-up