RESTORATIVE JUSTICE PRACTICES

Repairing hurt & building community of trust

When the punishment for misbehavior is removing students from class,

we exclude kids from learning. We also fracture the trust within the school
community. This does little to repair any damage done and takes away
students’ opportunity to reflect on their misbehavior and set intentions for
new ways of being. Couple those implications with implicit bias, security
involvement in school discipline, and disproportionate suspension and
expulsion rates for students of color, and we have a school-to-prison pipeline
across our country.

But what if we could focus on really repairing the hurt, restoring the
standing in the community of the person who caused harm, and rebuilding
the community of trust, all while developing essential social and emotional
skills in the process? That’s restorative justice.

WHAT MIGHT IT LOOK LIKE?

Strong community: Restorative justice practices are part of building a community

with clear behavioral expectations and adults who are willing to invest in
establishing trusting relationships.
Regular rhythm: Restorative circles and other restorative justice practices are HOW DOES IT WORK?
practiced year-round and become routine—not rolled out in a time of crisis.
Protocols for engagement: Using a common protocol for circles led by a skilled
facilitator allows for consistency of implementation. UNDERSTANDING THE
REGULAR PRACTICE IMPACT OF ACTIONS, STUDENTS & ADULTS
OF LISTENING & MAKING AMENDS, &
Proactive and reactive: Circles are used to build the skills and conditions BEING HEARD WORKING TOWARD
EXPERIENCE A
CULTURE OF TRUST
necessary for a community of trust and to address concerns when they arise. HEALING

A continuum of restorative practices: Restorative justice circles exist on a

continuum of restorative practices that includes affective language and questioning
at the informal end of the continuum, and meetings and conferences at the formal
end.
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RESTORATIVE JUSTICE PRACTICES
The Details
CHANGES IN STUDENT & ADULT BEHAVIOR MIGHT INCLUDE
• Students or adults who have been harmed feeling their hurt has been
adequately addressed.
• Voices of all parties involved are being heard.
• Students involved are being able to return to effective learning.
Researchers and practitioners recommend:
• Integrate restorative justice into your overall school philosophy of
community and responsibility. This is not a standalone activity.
• This will take more time than punitive punishment. Maximize time by
integrating restorative practices into the school day.

• Adults modeling restorative justice practices and participating in circles when • Staff need to believe in the importance of restorative justice practices,
they have caused harm or been harmed. and in their own ability to implement them. Train your team and provide
ongoing modeling and support. Consider hiring an experienced coach to
• Communities healing.
support teachers in this work.
ADVICE FROM THE FIELD • When addressing bullying specifically, take special care in implementing
Restorative justice circles are most effective in a safe and trusting school commu- restorative justice circles, and be aware of the risks the power imbalance
nity, and they also help to foster such a community. between students may present to students speaking up.

How Can You Hack Toward It?

• Examine your data through an equity lens—Who is being sent out of class? Which sub-groups are most impacted by suspensions? How does your school
compare to your district and state average? What factors contribute to any over representation of some sub-groups?
• Hold a live poll with the question: “How do you know you can trust someone at this school?” or “What makes you feel that you are trusted?”
• Start with the structure—Practice the circle behavior of having a “talking piece” to focus the group on one speaker at a time.
• Encourage teachers and students to talk about an incident and how it affected them. Use the three questions from Zehr’s The Little Book of Restorative Justice: Who
has been hurt? What are their needs? Whose obligations are these? (Zehr & Gohar, 2003, pp. 20)
• Role pay a 1:1 conflict resolution session at a professional development session with staff and reflect on what this would look like in classrooms.
• Nest a restorative justice circle in an advisory session. How does the group adhere to its norms (or not) and what should happen to hold each other accountable?
• Hold a fish bowl with students inside and teachers outside to start a conversation the current discipline system. How do we deal with conflict in our school?
• Ask a few colleagues to listen to the Cult of Pedagogy podcast episode 89 (February 18, 2018): Restorative Justice in School: An Overview, an interview between
Jennifer Gonzalez and Victor Small, Jr. Discuss how it relates to your school.
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RESTORATIVE JUSTICE PRACTICES
Real-School Inspiration
District-supported restorative practices
Pittsburgh Public Schools
Pittsburgh Public Schools Pursuing Equitable Restorative Communities (PERC) program is a
comprehensive restorative justice practices program, implemented in 22 schools from Kindergarten
through 12th grade. PERC is built on the International Institute for Restorative Practices’
SaferSanerSchools model, and includes a suite of restorative practices including: affective statements,
restorative questions, small impromptu conferences, proactive circles, responsive circles, restorative
conferences, fair process, reintegrative management of shame, restorative staff community, restorative
approach with families, and fundamental hypothesis understandings.
The RAND corporation conducted a randomized controlled trial study of PERC. The researchers found
that PERC achieved several positive effects, including an improvement in overall school climates
(as rated by teachers), a reduction in overall suspension rates, and a reduction in the disparities in
suspension rates between African American and white students and between low- and higher-income
students.
Learn more about the SaferSanerSchools model.
https://www.iirp.edu/continuing-education/safer-saner-schools
Read the RAND report.
https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2840.html
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San Francisco Unified School District and
Oakland Unified School District
Implementing Restorative Justice Practices in the Schools
Since 2014, San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) has implemented programs to foster
restorative justice practices district-wide. These programs are grounded in the understanding that
culture change starts with relationships. Goal #1 of this program is to make social justice a reality
by addressing the disproportionate suspension of African American and Latino students for non-ed
code violations.
Check out SFUSD’s extensive website of resources on restorative practices.
https://www.healthiersf.org/RestorativePractices/About/index.php
Read the SFUSD whole-school implementation guide for restorative practices.
https://www.healthiersf.org/RestorativePractices/Resources/documents/SFUSD%20Whole%20
School%20Implementation%20Guide%20final.pdf
Across the Bay in Oakland, schools have also been leaders in district-wide restorative justice.
Their three-tiered school-wide model is structured on Community Building (Prevention/Relate);
Restorative Processes (Intervention/Repair); and Supported Re-Entry (Individualized/Re-Integrate).
Explore Oakland Unified’s extensive resource bank, including the videos and a Whole School
Restorative Justice Implementation Guide.
https://www.ousd.org/Page/1054
Listen to the NPR report on Oakland’s implementation of restorative justice practices.
https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2014/12/17/347383068/an-alternative-to-suspension-and-expulsion-
circle-up
RESTORATIVE JUSTICE PRACTICES
The Research

WHAT DOES THE RESEARCH SAY?
Although the formal research base for restorative practices is in its early stages,
studies have found that restorative justice practices can lead to reduction in mis-
behavior and disciplinary actions, as well as improved attendance and an im-
proved school climate. Additionally, a recent randomized controlled trial found
that a comprehensive restorative justice program in Pittsburgh Public Schools
led to improved school climates, reduced suspension rates (including reduced
disparities in suspension rates between African American and white students,
and low- and higher-income students). There is mixed evidence, however on the
impact of restorative justice practices on academic outcomes.
References
The Aspen Institute (2018). “From a nation at risk to a nation at hope: Recommen-
dations from the National Commission on Social, Emotional, & Academic Develop-
ment.” Retrieved from: www.NationAtHope.org.
Augustine, C. H., Engberg, J., Grimm, G.E., Lee, E., Wang, E.L., Christianson, K.,
& Joseph, A.A. (2018). Can restorative practices improve school climate and curb
suspensions? An evaluation of the impact of restorative practices in a mid-sized urban
school district. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation. Retrieved from: https://www.
rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2840.html.
Fronius, T., Darling-Hammond, S., Persson, H., Guckenburg, S., Hurley, N., &
Petrosino, A. (2019). “Restorative justice in U.S. schools: An updated research review.”
WestEd Justice & Prevention Research Center. Retrieved from: https://www.wested.org/
resources/restorative-justice-in-u-s-schools-an-updated-research-review/.
Gonzalez, Jennifer. (2018). “Restorative justice in school: An overview.” Cult of
Pedagogy Podcast. Retrieved from: https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/restorative-
justice-overview/.
McClure, L. (2016). “Bringing restorative practices to your school.” Edutopia.
Retrieved from: https://www.edutopia.org/article/bringing-restorative-practices-
to-your-school-laura-mcclure.
Oakland Unified School District. (2019). “Restorative Justice.” Retrieved from:
https://www.ousd.org/restorativejustice.
San Francisco Unified School District, Student, Family, and Community Support
Department. (2019). “Continuum of Restorative Practices.” Retrieved from:
https://www.healthiersf.org/RestorativePractices/WhatIsRP/continuum.php.
Schott Foundation, Advancement Project, American Federation of Teachers and
National Education Association. (2014). “Restorative practices: fostering healthy
relationships & promoting positive discipline in schools.” Retrieved from: http://
schottfoundation.org/restorative-practices.
U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights. (2014). “Civil Rights Data
Collection: Data Snapshot (School Discipline).” Retrieved from: https://ocrdata.
ed.gov/Downloads/CRDC-School-Discipline-Snapshot.pdf.
Wachtel, T. (2016). “Defining restorative.” International Institute for Restorative
Practices. Retrieved from: https://www.iirp.edu/restorative-practices/defining-
restorative/.
Zehr, H. & Gohar, A. (2003). “The little book of restorative justice.” Retrieved
from: https://www.unicef.org/tdad/littlebookrjpakaf.pdf.

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