Well-Being of School Community: Restorative Justice Discourse

As many online discussions during May were centered around student behavior, restorative justice practices were highlighted as a potential response to students’ actions.

  • “Restorative justice in schools has been redefined to mean ‘we don’t hold students accountable.’ The part where we repair harm, restore relationships, and address root causes has been ignored in many places. Anyone out there using restorative practices with fidelity?” —School Leader in California
    • “Doing my dissertation work on restorative justice as school reform, so following this and would love to connect with folks who are leading RJ principles and practices in their contexts!” —Educator in California
    • “Yes! The repair and restore parts are missing. RJ is not just a circle as someone said or SEL. It’s lost the deeper  meaning.” —Assistant Principal in California
  • “If we truly want to move away from a carceral system as a province, we need to do more than simply remove consequences. We need a complete overhaul with all staff trained in restorative Justice and front line culturally responsive mental health staff right in schools.” —ELL Educator in Ontario
  • “You can’t restore community that never existed. And you can’t also pretend to care about oppressed people when you didn’t care from the start. Restorative justice restorative practices or about the before.” —School Leader in California
  • “Restorative justice practices work to address the dehumanization frequently experienced by people in the traditional criminal justice system…not discipline issues centering on children in school.” —School Leader in New Jersey