Aug 21, 2017, ABC 12, Flint, MI: Changing student discipline with Restorative Justice practices http://www.abc12.com/content/news/Changing-student-discipline-with-Restorative-Justice-practices--441334703.html
Schools across Michigan are being asked to change the way they discipline students. The "zero tolerance" offenses will now have a different outcome. Instead of immediately suspending or expelling a student, the district has to come up with a Restorative Justice policy.
There are seven factors that must be evaluated before a discipline decision is made.
They include student's age and disciplinary history, whether or not they have a disability, the seriousness of the violation or their behavior, whether what they did threatened anyone else's safety, if restorative practices will be used to address their wrongdoing and if a lesser intervention would properly address their actions. ...
Schools had to have this policy in place by Aug. 1.
The school board will determine what restorative justice action will be taken on a case-by-case basis.
Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.