Restorative Justice, School Reopenings, and Educational Equity: A Contemporary Mapping and Analysis of State Law

Restorative Justice, School Reopenings and Educational Equity: A Contemporary Mapping and Analysis of State Law, 55 UC DAVIS L. REV. ONLINE 43 (2021)

22 Pages Posted: 8 Nov 2022

See all articles by Thalia González

Thalia González

University of California Hastings College of Law ; Georgetown Law Center

Rebecca Epstein

Georgetown University Law Center - Center on Gender Justice & Opportunity

Claire Krelitz

Los Angeles World Affairs Council & Town Hall (LAWACTH)

Rhea Shinde

Bass, Berry & Sims, PLC

Date Written: 2021

Abstract

The opportunity to use restorative justice practices to address structural inequalities and reimagine school structures has become increasingly important in the wake of twin social and public health pandemics. As research-based restorative practices continue to grow across the country with the aim of fostering supportive, safe, and anti-racist learning environments, calls to codify school-based restorative justice are spreading. Despite the prevalence of on-the-ground practices since the 1990s and a growing evidence base for school-based restorative practices, there is little understanding of the effect of the legalization of restorative justice on individual- or school-level outcomes. This study is the first analysis of the current school-based restorative justice schemes enshrined in state law. This data lays an important foundation for future directions in research, policy construction, and the use of restorative practices as education in the United States continues to transform following COVID-19 closures. To ensure that schools can best support the needs of students as they return to classrooms, close attention to the current restorative justice legal scheme is a key step to avoid practices and policies that could exacerbate long-standing systemic inequities in education. As schools rebuild their learning communities, future attention should focus on rigorous and systematic evaluation of restorative justice laws and how they can strengthen not only our educational system as a whole but also support educational achievement and healthy social and emotional development. Such studies will also promote new sociolegal understandings of the deployment of law as a core element of educational equity and justice movements, as well as enhance the evidence base for restorative justice in schools.

Keywords: restorative justice, education law, policy, discipline, school connectedness, school climate, empirical legal studies

Suggested Citation

González, Thalia and Epstein, Rebecca and Krelitz, Claire and Shinde, Rhea, Restorative Justice, School Reopenings, and Educational Equity: A Contemporary Mapping and Analysis of State Law ( 2021). Restorative Justice, School Reopenings and Educational Equity: A Contemporary Mapping and Analysis of State Law, 55 UC DAVIS L. REV. ONLINE 43 (2021), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4251916

Thalia González (Contact Author)

University of California Hastings College of Law ( email )

200 McAllister St
San Francisco, CA 94102
United States

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.uchastings.edu/people/thalia-gonzalez/

Georgetown Law Center ( email )

Washington, DC
United States

Rebecca Epstein

Georgetown University Law Center - Center on Gender Justice & Opportunity ( email )

600 New Jersey Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001
United States

Claire Krelitz

Los Angeles World Affairs Council & Town Hall (LAWACTH)

Rhea Shinde

Bass, Berry & Sims, PLC

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