Replace zero tolerance discipline policies with explicit social-emotional teaching and restorative discipline practices¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 1 claim (1 for) · 1 study (1 qualitative), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 1 claim rests on one study

Description¶

The report recommends that states, districts, and schools replace zero tolerance policies with discipline policies focused on explicit teaching of social-emotional strategies and restorative discipline practices. The stated aim is "supporting young people in learning key skills and developing responsibility for themselves and their community." This strategy appears both in the policy recommendations (replacing zero tolerance, incorporating restorative practices into licensing requirements) and in the school-level implication that educative and restorative approaches to classroom management help children learn responsibility.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Educators need preparation in implementing social-emotional learning and restorative justice programs

Constraints¶

Target Learners¶

• K-12 students
• Students affected by exclusionary discipline

Target Learning Goals¶

• Social-emotional skills
• Personal and social responsibility

Affordances¶

• Four Domain Whole Child Framework

Claims¶

• Experts attribute their focus on RJ in schools to the failure of zero-tolerance discipline, disciplinary disparities, school climate concerns, holistic community approaches, and connections to youth development models [+W]

Related Strategies¶

• Replace exclusionary discipline for low-level offenses with social-emotional skill teaching, educator supports, implicit-bias training, and relationship-centered schools
• Six-part state and local policy strategy for reducing exclusionary discipline and suspension gaps
• Structural supports for restorative practices: funding, people, time, discipline policy, and equity
• Restorative-justice-aligned discipline policies to reduce exclusionary discipline disparities
• Build safety and belonging by detracking, offering low-barrier extracurriculars, and implementing restorative approaches in place of exclusionary discipline

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Darling-Hammond, L., & Cook-Harvey, C. M. (2018). Educating the whole child: Improving school climate to support student success. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/educating-whole-child. doi:10.54300/145.655