Black and Latinx students are disproportionately more likely to be suspended or expelled from school than White students. Further, studies have shown that attending schools with stricter disciplinary policies can lead to adverse long-term outcomes, including lower educational attainment and higher chances of incarceration. Restorative justice practices, which focus on repairing harm and building community, have shown promise in creating a safe school environment that promotes belonging and learning. Building on prior research that found restorative justice practices in Chicago Public Schools (CPS) reduced both exclusionary discipline overall and racial disparities in short-term outcomes, this study will examine the longer-term impacts of these practices, as well as whether positive effects spill over to students’ younger siblings. The team will use student-level two-way fixed effects models to examine the impact of restorative practices exposure on high school graduation, postsecondary enrollment and completion, and criminal legal involvement, and examine how this varies by race, gender, and restorative practice approach. The team also plans to collect supplemental qualitative data from focus groups and interviews with students, restorative practice coaches, and school staff to explore perspectives on the quantitative findings . Through the use of innovative methods, the team will comment on the reach and the longevity of an intervention found to reduce racial inequalities in a prior study.
Do restorative justice practices reduce racial inequalities in graduation, criminal justice system involvement, and post-secondary outcomes, and if so, how?
