Restorative for All? Racial Disproportionality and Restorative Justice Practices in a Large Urban School District

• In Event: 3146 - Race, Equity, and Legitimacy in Education Policy and Practice

Abstract

The well-documented racial disparities in school discipline have led many school districts in the U.S. to adopt restorative justice practices. The restorative justice philosophy differs from traditional disciplinary action by placing an emphasis on restitution and improving behavior rather than punishment. While models of restorative justice are descriptively and theoretically promising, scholarly evaluation of restorative practices in schools is limited. We used student-level administrative data to measure the impact of restorative justice on student discipline in Pacific City schools between the 2007-2015 school years. Results indicate that restorative justice practices led to an overall reduction in disciplinary action. However, results also show that restorative justice practices had differential effects between racial groups, with White students benefiting most from restorative justice. These findings indicate that while the overall effects of restorative justice are promising, these practices may be widening the racial disproportionality in school discipline they are instituted to mitigate.

Authors

• Miles Davison, University of California-Irvine

• Andrew Penner, University of California-Irvine

• Emily K. Penner, University of California-Irvine