The Just Discipline Project: Implementation Study and Regional Impact Model (JDP) sheds much needed light on the dramatic inequalities in school discipline in the Pittsburgh region, and offers remedies aimed to serve as a national model. While local districts have begun relaxing zero-tolerance suspension policies and implementing stand-alone restorative practice programs, these shifts alone do not equip teachers and administrators with the resources and training necessary to take on the issues that tend to cause overreliance on exclusionary practices in the first place. Reforms like restorative practices have been attempted nationwide with the goal of reducing suspensions and mitigating the disparate impacts of exclusionary discipline on Black and Latinx youth, but no large-scale studies have been attempted with fully staffed programs. In response, this project evaluates the implementation and performs a cost-benefit analysis of restorative practices in urban school contexts, as well as building regional capacity and buy-in for future restorative practices work.
Led by Dr. James Huguley, and funded by the Institute for Educational Sciences, The Heinz Endowments and Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh (The Pittsburgh Study), JDP looks at the impact of restorative practices on student disciplinary and academic outcomes; how treatment effects vary by student- and school-level characteristics; the impact of restorative practices on students’ engagement and perceptions of school climate; and the barriers to and supports for successful JDP implementation across schools, among other areas. Support from The Heinz Endowments specifically also facilitates JDP’s work around regional and national advocacy for best practices in school discipline and climate.
This project includes a mixed-methods, randomized controlled trial as well as formative partnerships with local school districts to build buy-in and capacity for future work. School climate is assessed in student and teacher surveys to capture perceptions of the racial, disciplinary, academic, and relational aspects of the school. Student distal outcome analysis includes long-term effects like attendance, office referrals, suspensions, and school-based arrests. School-level racial disparities in discipline rates and academic performance data are also assessed using PA Department of Education data. This study will take place from the 2021-2022 school year through the 2023-2024 school year. Simultaneously, Huguley and his team are leveraging knowledge gained to undertake a regional initiative to change school policies. This includes capacity-building professional development supports for schools, districts, and programs in the area, such as one-off trainings, summer institutes, and recurring partnerships. This also includes publishing content like briefs, papers, and social media posts to shift policymakers’ and community members’ understandings of discipline toward necessary changes.
Results from the JDP pilot school showed a 22% reduction in suspensions over two years of work, as well as a 30% reduction in office referrals. These changes occurred alongside improvements in state test scores in science, math, and English language arts (ELA). These math and ELA gains reversed previous negative trends at the pilot school.
The Just Discipline Regional Impact Model integrates in-school implementation of restorative practices with regional capacity building and policy advocacy. The first of its kind to evaluate the implementation and cost/ benefits of a fully-staffed restorative practices intervention in order to assess its potential for changing school culture and decreasing racial disparities in school suspensions. Simultaneously, professional development builds the capacity of school leaders and practitioners to conduct restorative practice work, and advocacy to policymakers will enhance the visibility of the project. Finally, the program schools serve as a beacon for others seeking to observe restorative practices in action.