From Punitive to Restorative, Punishment to Healing Using Restorative Justice in Schools to Combat Zero-Tolerance Policy and the School to Prison Pipeline

Abstract

Zero-tolerance policies have had an adverse effect on students in school since their inception in the 1990s. They began to grow in popularity with the implementation of the Gun-Free School Act (GFSA) in 1994. The GFSA justified making more behaviors punishable as fears of school violence and gang-related shootings grew. As the negative effects of zero-tolerance policies and their contributions to the school to prison pipeline became apparent, there has been an emphasis on ways to combat them. Restorative justice and practices have been used in school settings as a way to combat these policies. Implementing restorative practices in schools can have a positive influence on students and fight zero-tolerance policies and the school to prison pipeline. J.C. Roe Center in New Hanover County is an alternative school that is implementing restorative practices in a variety of ways to help at-risk students who have been expelled or suspended from their home schools. Using restorative practices in the classrooms at J.C. Roe has a positive effect on the students as it is teaching mindfulness, focus, and self-calming techniques.