The Impact of Suspensions on K‑12 Youth in Schools
Restorative justice (RJ) is an alternative to disciplinary action in schools. It is a peaceful conflict‑resolution and relationship‑building approach which places emphasis on ensuring students thrive in school. This provides an alternative to them facing punishment that could impact their lives far beyond the school environment.
According to the U.S. Department of Education’s Civil Rights Data Collection, in the 2020‑2021 academic year, nearly 786,600 K‑12 public school students received in‑school suspensions and 638,700 received out‑of‑school suspensions.
The societal factors that can influence student suspension rates include socioeconomic status, race, disability, and school climate. Enrique Garza, the Restorative Justice Program Manager at RSCCM, explains: “suspension … affect minority groups that tend to also have limitations in their social economic [status]. This can create a bigger gap between the students’ mind and the idea of suspensions.”
While facing barriers such as socioeconomic status, students also have to worry about falling behind on their work. Some studies argue that suspensions do not resolve students’ behavioral actions. Rather, suspensions result in a decline in academic test scores, including declining math proficiency.
As Aaron Kupchik, sociology and criminal‑justice professor, explains in “Why School Suspensions Do More Harm Than Good.” “It is important to hold students accountable for misbehavior, but in a way that teaches them and supports their growth, not that holds them back.”
Suspensions impact students by giving them negative relationships with school and teachers. Policy and juvenile‑justice researcher Johanna Lacoe suggests there is a direct correlation between feelings of unsafety and academic achievement in New York public schools.
Enrique Garza on School Suspensions
According to Garza, suspensions often lead to feelings of “abandon[ment], not belonging, feeling that things are easier if you feed a perspective others give you, even if that may not lead to a positive outcome.”
Garza highlights how suspensions happen. “Students at times do not understand or underestimate consequences to [their] actions, which leaves [them] little to no room to avoid suspensions.” He continues: “It is highly unlikely that students who get suspended feel suspension as a punishment or as an opportunity to learn a lesson. In my opinion, suspension may be seen more as down time rather than consequences generating gaps.”
In December 2016, a new Michigan law changed the “zero‑tolerance” policy for schools. “Zero tolerance” held that certain actions would result in suspension or expulsion, but the new legislation called for increased flexibility. According to then‑Governor Rick Snyder: “We are giving school districts flexibility to consider many factors when making decisions on disciplinary actions for schools…This is similar to measures we have taken to reform our criminal‑justice system by emphasizing restorative justice.”
School suspensions tend to disproportionately distance and provoke disengagement in students. This is because suspensions place students outside of the school environment where they can grow and flourish. As an alternative to suspensions, restorative justice promotes healing and conflict resolution. It also works at impacting feelings of safety. Restorative justice brings students, families, schools, and communities together to resolve problems, promote healing, and transform conflict. Through restorative justice, we can transform school culture from suspensions to success in school.
Garza has seen many schools welcome restorative justice in certain ways. But this perspective shift might have less of an impact if staff are not properly trained. However, he has noticed that schools might be less apt to hire a restorative justice specialist. “Although [schools] welcome the framework, they overlook the power of having a neutral party facilitate support. The [schools] that have a neutral person doing restorative justice work at schools tend to be able to foster restorative interactions that students begin to engage with instinctively.”
The effects of a solid restorative justice framework for kids are invaluable. Garza shares: “I’ve witnessed students as young as 7 years of age, engage in restorative conversations and circles on their own. This to me, shows the strength and power of restorative justice in schools. If students from the age of 7 start to understand accountability and the power of their actions, by the time they reach middle school, they will start to interact differently with other students.”
Restorative justice is necessary to support the work of schools in developing positive communities for their students. RSCCM’s restorative‑justice program centers on building relationships, participating in community, and enabling feelings of safety and belonging. “This ultimately leads to better understanding of relationships,” Garza states, “and ultimately influences the entire school community and culture in a positive way.”
If you would like to support our restorative‑justice efforts in schools, consider the following:
- Donate to RSCCM’s restorative‑justice program.
- Ask local schools in your area to bring in RSCCM’s trained restorative justice specialists.
- Inform your parent‑teacher associations about the problems of suspension in schools.
- Consider volunteering to become a restorative‑justice specialist.