Restorative Practice Program: Student-Led Discipline in Theory and Practice

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 2:15 pm
  In Roundtable Session: The Impacts of School Discipline Policies on Students' Sense of Belonging and Mattering

Abstract

This essay examines the theory and experiences behind the Restorative Practice Program (RPP), a student-led disciplinary initiative at Downtown High School (pseudonym). RPP emerged in response to punitive disciplinary practices disproportionately impacting Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) students. With my support as a school staff member of color, the students developed a restorative framework aimed at reducing suspensions and enhancing student-teacher communication. Grounded in critical consciousness and student agency, RPP became a model for anti-racist, youth-led discipline. Drawing from interviews and theory, this essay demonstrates how student-driven approaches can challenge inequities and reshape school culture. RPP represents a systemic remedy rooted in relationship-building, aligns with the conference theme of "unforgetting histories and imagining futures" in educational equity.

Author

• Marisol Badilla, University of Arizona