D13 Restorative Justice Panel
A couple of our youth leaders represented IntegrateNYC at this month’s District 13 Restorative Justice Townhall in collaboration with the NYC Department of Education. They defined restorative justice in the context of education, relationships, and policy change, as well as explained the importance of upholding its principles in schools.
Restorative Justice (RJ) is a different approach to address misconduct. It aims to fix the harm caused and rebuild relationships, instead of just punishing the offender. RJ is especially helpful for marginalized communities, who are often unfairly affected by traditional punishments. RJ involves everyone affected, including both youth and adults, to create consequences and solutions that lead to long-term change and empowerment. RJ also addresses larger issues that contribute to misconduct, such as racism, adultism, and the school-to-prison pipeline.
Restorative justice is important because research shows that traditional disciplinary measures like suspensions do little to reduce future misbehavior for the disciplined students or their peers.
Zero tolerance policies that suspend or expel students are expensive, costing more than $746.8 million each year in NYC alone. Restorative justice (RJ) aims to address the root of the problem, which might be poverty, mental health, or needs for a more engaging curriculum. It is a more effective and less expensive approach to discipline that keeps students in school, where they can learn and thrive in a safe environment.
RJ also has positive effects on a student’s academic performance, attendance, and behavior and reduces the likelihood of future negative interactions with the criminal justice system. So it is important for schools to adopt restorative justice practices and for the necessary funding and support to be provided to make them successful.
RJ teaches us that “hurt” people…in turn hurt people. Violence in school is really about mental health and emotional safety. When these incidents occur RJ should be used to find the root of the problem and not just the symptom. Where did the harm begin–and often the “harm” is larger than the youth and their family. Its a societal harm.
Punishment only works when the authority (adult) is watching and relies on (adult) control. Restorative methods impose a reasonable consequence rather than a punishment, which means youth and adult work together to find the repair. Long term behavior changes comes from strong relationships and self esteems, and not out of fear and shame.
RJ is about moving from “Do something about (youth) and into Do something with (youth). Restorative Justice means trusting youth to address their own problems and to improve school climate from youth perspective from citywide to campus.