It's lunchtime in the school cafeteria. Rather than taking her place in the long line, Bianca cuts directly to the front. She grabs her food. As she walks away, another student, Vanessa, angrily curses and yells. A fight ensues. Security guards escort both girls to the principal's office where each receives a five-day suspension.
Under zero-tolerance policies, schools like Bianca's and Vanessa's ask only what rule was broken, who broke it and how should they be punished. Suspensions are the main recourse, though schools that rely on suspensions are less safe, less equitable and have lower academic outcomes.
What if a different set of questions were asked? What happened? What was going on with you at the time? Who was affected and how? What do you need to do to make things right?
These are the questions asked by schools with restorative justice programs designed to create safety, accountability, healing and a sense of agency and community.
In a restorative justice circle with Vanessa, Bianca could apologize for cutting in. She could explain she always misses breakfast because she is busy every morning getting her younger siblings ready for school while her mother is at work at one of her three jobs.
Vanessa could also apologize for the outburst. She might share she's on edge because her mother's alcoholic ex-husband has been coming around and harassing the family. She might ask the school for help.
[For more of this story, written by Fania Davis, go to http://www.insidebayarea.com/o...s-alternatives-youth]
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