“Restorative Justice” or Restoring Order? Restorative School Discipline Practices in Urban Public Schools

Abstract

Suspension rates for students of color are higher than for White students, even in schools that utilize alternatives to suspension like restorative practices. This study draws on data from a year-long multicase ethnography that sought to elucidate why such disproportionality prevails in schools that use restorative practices. This article focuses on one finding: that the individuals hired to be restorative coordinators were consistently young, non-White staff from the same neighborhoods as their students. The majority-White faculty and administration greatly depended on these coordinators to bond with, contain, and compel obedience from students of color.