Restorative Justice and the Reclamation of Civic Education for Youth

This study seeks to discover how restorative justice practices address inequalities in school discipline. In contrast to zero-tolerance policies, which have shown little success, restorative justice practices might lead to specific pedagogical and policy strategies for eradicating racial disparities in school discipline policies. As a participant observer in “circle processes” and through interviews, the researcher will gather data to examine restorative justice practices in six public middle and high schools in a Midwest community with extreme disproportionality in discipline practices. Data analysis will show how restorative practices impact referral, suspension, and expulsion rates for youth who participate in circle processes.