The Department of Education is deepening its commitment to the polarizing “restorative justice” disciplinary model.
The DOE will spend $1.3 million to establish “restorative justice action teams” made up of students and adults at more than 100 city schools being paid to entrench the program, according to a budgeting document.
That figure is expected to hike as the initiative is implemented at more schools across the city.
Instead of suspensions and other disciplinary measures, the approach has students attempt to peacefully settle disputes under teacher supervision.
Backers argue that harsher punishments are often inappropriate and can alienate students.
Critics charge that restorative justice emboldens poor behavior through a lack of direct consequences for misconduct.
The new DOE memo allocates up to $13,000 each to 107 selected schools that have introduced restorative justice programs.
The teams will seek to “revise school operations including discipline procedures, so that they are restorative in nature and inclusive for all,” the memo states.
The practice fell under intense scrutiny last week after some parents at a Manhattan middle school argued that administrators were fomenting disorder through a reliance on restorative justice.
They highlighted a series of fights posted to a student Snapchat group to corroborate their assertions and said administrators were turning blind eye.
Backers of the school’s administration have accused the school’s detractors of exaggerating the extent of the violence and scapegoating restorative justice.
Parent activist Mona Davids, a longtime critic of the approach, said it was ineffective in combating misconduct and damaged overall school climate.
“It doesn’t work,” she said. “When there are no consequences, kids are going to act out. That’s obvious to most people.”
Davids also highlighted a shortage of school safety agents in city schools and argued that more should be hired in the near term to improve security for city students.
Despite the critiques, the DOE has stood behind the strategy.
“When implemented effectively, restorative practices lead to welcoming and caring school environments where all students, staff, families, and partners feel welcome, safe, and necessary,” the memo stated.
