Dr. Reid replacing school discipline with “restorative justice” ?
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Anonymous
Is it optional for the FCPS employee - say, a teacher - when the teacher is assaulted by a student? |
Anonymous
Isn't Baltimore City also the school district where zero students are proficient at math? Hmm. |
Anonymous
"This approach" is not explained in the OP. Does this mean no discipline ever? Or does it mean discipline that doesn't stay on the record forever so as not to disadvantage kids' futures? Does it mean progressive discipline? Discipline coupled with counseling? I cannot say if I think it's a "good idea" or not if you haven't explained what it is beyond inflammatory soundbites. And, yeah, I could spend the time parsing it out online but since OP brought it up . . . |
Anonymous
It’s a voluntary process. https://www.nyssba.org/news/2018/07/20/on-board-online-july-23-2018/when-a-student-assaults-a-teacher-can-restorative-justice-work/ |
Anonymous
I find it bizarre you had to cite to Criminal Justice Canada research on foreign prison inmates for support for Michelle Reid’s plans for our children in FCPS. |
Anonymous
In relevant examples here in Fairfax county, restorative justice has been a failure. |
Anonymous
Citation? |
Anonymous
You could maybe compare Baltimore city schools to DC public schools. But it is laughable to apply Baltimore’s results to FCPS’ diverse school system and argue the program will work the same way. |
Anonymous
So sorry this happened to your child. |
Anonymous
My concern would how this process plays out when the victim is sexually assaulted, and then has to face her assailant all over again throughout this restorative justice program. It seems like it would be re-living the assault or rape all over again, just to satisfy some unproven social-justice experiment, which focuses only on the well-being of the bully. |
Anonymous
If this is how the program works in practice, it sounds like it will be a disaster when Dr. Reid applies it to the entire county. |
Anonymous
Sounds like most PPs are unfamiliar with it based on the many false assumptions. Lots of info here: https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/forms/RJInformationPacket.pdf To answer some of your questions: "Restorative Justice Practice is a philosophy based on a set of principles for responding to harm and wrongdoing that is victim-centered and focuses on offender accountability to those who were harmed and to the laws or rules that were broken. It also includes a principal-based approach to establish and strengthen relationships." "Criteria for Referral This information is intended to guide administrators in making decisions about appropriate referrals to a Restorative Justice (RJ) process. Once a referral is made, it is the responsibility of the Restorative Justice team to make the final assessment of case suitability. Parent permission is required to participate in a Restorative Justice process. Administrators should secure parent permission prior to making the Restorative Justice referral. Administrators may seek support from their assigned RJ Practitioner when securing parent permission and/or discussing the Restorative Justice process. Participating in a Restorative Justice process is voluntary for all parties. The offending student(s) must admit involvement in the incident. There are differing degrees of responsibility in an incident of wrongdoing; however, the student(s) must admit to being involved in the incident. There should be clear evidence to support that wrongdoing has occurred. The process is not meant to be used as an investigative method for determining guilt. It the offending student(s) and those harmed by the wrongdoing agree that there has been a violation and harm has been done, but they can’t determine or won’t acknowledge who is responsible for what, a conference can help sort out specific acts and responsibility for those actions – but the offending student(s) referred for the process must admit to being involved in the wrongdoing. Every student should have access to restorative justice and be considered for referral. Every FCPS student must have access to a restorative justice process. Offending students must admit to being involved to access the restorative justice process. Students who receive services from a school social worker, school psychologist, or medical professional always have the option to include that person or persons with them in the RJ process as supporters. Prior offenses do not preclude a student from being referred to a Restorative Justice process. Often student(s) do not understand the impact of their actions. Students can benefit from a RJ process, even if a prior history of wrongdoing is evident. All incidents of wrongdoing and violation of the FCPS Student Rights and Responsibilities document are eligible to be referred to a Restorative Justice process. In a Restorative Justice process, everyone adversely affected by the wrongdoing is a harmed person. This includes participating students and their families. Referrals can be made at all stages of the disciplinary process and for almost every incident or wrongdoing, regardless of the seriousness of the offense. Referral can be made as a diversion from the traditional disciplinary process for appropriate situations. Restorative Justice can be utilized in combination with other discipline actions such as: oneday suspension and referral to RJ, as opposed to 3–10-day suspension. This option works well for fighting and verbal altercations when both students admit involvement. A Restorative Justice process can be initiated for re-entry into the classroom or school after a disciplinary action has been completed. A referral to a Restorative Justice process should not be used as an additional punishment or sanction for the offending student(s). |
Anonymous
"Participating in a Restorative Justice process is voluntary for all parties." |
Anonymous
It works in schools too. https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/07/15/restorative-justice-montgomery-county-schools/ "A recent report by Sean Darling-Hammond, assistant professor of health and education at UCLA, indicates that restorative practices improve middle school students’ academic achievement, while reducing suspension rates and disparities, misbehavior, substance abuse and student mental health challenges." https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED596786.pdf [i]"The earlier discussion about RJ theory suggests that a well-implemented program could reduce punitive disciplinary actions and problem behavior over time (Tyler, 2006). All the empirical studies we reviewed report a decrease in exclusionary discipline and harmful behavior (e.g., violence) after implementing some type of RJ program. " "But, across the studies, school attendance tended to improve after RJ implementation. Baker (2009), for example, reports that students who participated in an RJ program12 experienced a 50-percent reduction in absenteeism during the first year of implementation and a decrease in tardiness of about 64 percent. " "70 percent of staff reported that RJ improved overall school climate during the first year of implementation." |
Anonymous
So stopping suspensions reduced suspensions and increased attendance? And kids and the climate seemed happier because they were not suspended? |