Denver Public Schools' restorative justice reforms coincided with falling suspension rates and a narrowed Black-White suspension gap¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r1 · q2
Currency · newest study 2019 · checked against its sources 2026-10-17 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Between 2006-07 and 2012-13, African American students' suspension rate in DPS fell from 17.61% to 10.42% and the Black-White gap fell from almost 5.88% to 2.28%. → Cardichon 2019

Evidence¶

Cardichon 2019¶

Cardichon, J., & Darling-Hammond, L. (2019). Protecting students' civil rights: The federal role in school discipline. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/student-civil-rights-school-discipline doi:10.33682/a3vc-nfcx

q2 · i? · review · r1

District-level data from Denver Public Schools after implementing restorative justice policies show the African American suspension rate "fell from 17.61% to 10.42%" and the Black-White gap fell from almost 5.88% to 2.28%. Suspensions dropped from 11,000 in 2006 to 4,500 in 2016 despite enrollment growth.

"After implementing restorative justice policies and moving away from zero-tolerance policies, between the 2006–07 school year and the 2012–13 school year the rate of suspensions for African American students in DPS fell from 17.61% to 10.42% and the gap between African American students' suspension rate and White students' suspension rate fell from almost 5.88% to 2.28%."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Shifting to restorative practices reduced exclusionary discipline and its racial disparities while improving climate and achievement — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
• California's shift to restorative and social-emotional approaches coincided with a 33.6% decline in suspensions and 40.4% decline in expulsions (2011-2016) while schools became safer — related
• Black and poor students are suspended from US schools at higher rates than White and nonpoor students — a broader claim this one bears on
• Experts report reduced suspensions and expulsions and improved school climate as RJ implementation successes — related
• Massachusetts Chapter 222 coincided with out-of-school suspensions for Black girls falling from 16 to 9 per 100 — related
• Academic benefits of restorative practice exposure are stronger for Black and Latino/a students than for White students, suggesting practices can reduce racial gaps — related
• At racially/ethnically diverse schools, African American boys are suspended at about 13 percentage points higher rates than other students in the same school — related
• Schurz High School's Cultivate-driven feedback-for-growth improvement work coincided with improved student experiences and out-of-school suspensions dropping to one-half of the prior year's number — related
• Programs offering the highest levels of active student participation are those aimed at generally improving the school environment (Restorative Justice and SEHER), suggesting broad, systemic scope favors student decision-making roles — related