Boyle Heights schools revising discipline with restorative justice
Roosevelt High is now one of three public schools in Los Angeles to start implementing restorative justice, a growing movement to replace traditional methods of school discipline with practices that lead to fewer suspensions, expulsions, and dropouts. Struggling with low graduation rates district-wide, the Los Angeles school district's board approved a bill that eliminated “zero tolerance” policies for breaking rules and ended suspensions for “willful defiance,” defined as any disruptive behavior. “When you ticket a young person for a fight at school, or arrest them, it only festers. [Restorative justice] teaches broader life lessons.” Read more on Boyle Heights Beat.