But What Is Justice? Framing Restorative Justice Reform for Utah Teens

• In Event: Moscone Center North Roundtable Session 1
  In Roundtable Session: Desegregation, Resegregation, and Critical Policy Analysis

Abstract

Minoritized students in the United States are more likely to experience exclusionary discipline that can eventually lead them to prison (Skiba & Rausch, 2006). In April 2017, Utah legislators came together and passed a series of sweeping reforms (H.B. 239) to the state’s education and criminal justice systems to counteract what is commonly referred to as the school-to-prison pipeline. These new laws included, among other things, a recommendation to implement “restorative justice” practices in place of exclusionary discipline. However, many of these policies have failed. Using critical discourse analysis, I examine how the fundamental beliefs about the role of justice influenced the creation of such a policy in the state of Utah in 2017.

Author

• Elisse n Newey, Brigham Young University