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Restoring Our Children's Future: Ending Disparate School Discipline Through Restorative Justice Practices, Kaeanna Wood

Journal of Dispute Resolution

This note opens the discussion on disparate school discipline with a case harboring egregious facts, then goes on to explore the history of zero-tolerance policies as the primary method of school discipline, federal civil rights laws prohibiting discrimination based on race in school discipline, and the rise of restorative practices as a means of school discipline. In conclusion, this note argues that in implementing restorative justice practices as an alternative dispute resolution method, schools can end a pattern of disproportionately disciplining African American and Hispanic students and create an environment that fosters success for all children.