Restorative Justice in School District Discipline Policies Addressing Bullying and Harassment in Schools

• In Event: From Structural Harm to Structural Change: Exploring Policy Levers for Educational Justice and Repair

Abstract

There is a growing movement in U.S. primary and secondary schools to shift discipline strategies from punitive, exclusionary approaches positive and restorative justice (RJ) practices. States and school districts have increasingly implemented policies encouraging the use of RJ in response to inter-personal school-based incidents, particularly bullying and harassment. Evidence on whether these policy changes are associated with reduced harassment incidents is limited, however. The current study assessed associations between district discipline policies incorporating RJ and school counts of harassment allegations using data from 122 U.S. school districts’ discipline policies and 2,016 public schools. Data came from the Civil Rights Data Collection for the 2017-18 school year and were assessed using negative binomial generalized linear mixed models. Findings suggest districts with a higher quality RJ policy (i.e., define RJ, mandate RJ use, and provide guidance) were significantly associated with reduced race- and disability-based harassment allegations, but not overall harassment or sex-based harassment. Results also indicate school-level, more so than district-level, factors are strongly associated with school outcomes. Implications for improving policy and implementation processes to improve successful integration of RJ responses in school discipline practices are discussed.

Author

• Michaela Benson-Goldsmith, University of Nebraska Omaha