Source: (2013) Paper presented at the “Closing the School Discipline Gap: Research to Policy” conference. Washington, DC January 2013.
School suspensions and expulsions resulting from zero tolerance disciplinary policies
have directly expanded the “school-to-prison pipeline†while disproportionately and
negatively affecting minority students. This paper reviews current research on zero
tolerance, evidence for the effectiveness of restorative justice in schools as an
alternative to punitive disciplinary policies, and local and national policy efforts to
increase use of restorative practices in schools. The evidence shows that RJ is viable
school policy strategy for keeping students in school while also useful for redefining
the collaborative role of justice professionals and educators in the school setting to
keep youth in school and out of juvenile justice systems. (author’s abstract)
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