Over two years ago the Michigan legislature unanimously passed a series of bills requiring schools to consider restorative justice practices when faced with suspending a student. The bills eliminated most of the offenses that had triggered zero tolerance discipline for the past decades, replacing them with a presumption that students SHOULD be in school as much as possible.
Why would a fractious State House and Senate come together in such a way that every member voted in favor of this bill package? Because they could see the cost of ruined educations and derailed lives when kids don’t succeed in school. They saw that even one suspension can separate a student from healthy school-based relationships and put them behind academically so that they fail to live up to their social and academic potential.
As Frederick Douglass pointed out generations ago, School districts across the nation are proving this daily by incorporating the restorative justice philosophy and practices into their cultures and empowering their learning communities to live this truth. They are integrating restorative justice and using the restorative paradigm to:
- build community,
- foster social emotional learning,
- enhance PBIS interventions at all tiers,
- approach conflict and misconduct in a developmental way that can be trauma-sensitive and highly effective.
Schertzing Communications offers a variety of trainings from RJ101 PD sessions to our newest Training-of-Trainers opportunity. Every offering helps schools:
- Build capacity in your learning communities and the young lives they touch,
- Empower full compliance with the new school discipline laws,
- Support other initiatives in the educators’ tool box,
- Provide access to continuous improvement and development opportunities.
Contact us now at schertzingcommunications@gmail.com or 517.505.1828 to explore dates and discuss ways restorative justice can work in your district. Summer and fall scheduling options are filling up quickly, so reach out today to reserve your training!