{"id":779,"date":"2017-04-19T17:54:01","date_gmt":"2017-04-19T17:54:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ubaltlawcfcc.wordpress.com\/?p=779"},"modified":"2020-09-28T15:30:34","modified_gmt":"2020-09-28T15:30:34","slug":"in-an-effort-to-stop-the-school-to-prison-pipeline-maryland-looks-into-restorative-practices-as-an-alternative-to-harsh-disciplinary-practices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/cfcc\/2017\/04\/19\/in-an-effort-to-stop-the-school-to-prison-pipeline-maryland-looks-into-restorative-practices-as-an-alternative-to-harsh-disciplinary-practices\/","title":{"rendered":"In an effort to stop the school-to-prison pipeline, Maryland looks into restorative practices as an alternative to harsh disciplinary practices"},"content":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Christelle-grace Lowe, CFCC Student Fellow (2016-2017)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Education is a necessity that allows a person to develop her personality and identity, as well as her physical and intellectual capabilities.\u00a0 Education allows the transmission of principles common to new generations and the preservation and perpetuation of a society\u2019s values. Overall, the contribution of education to an individual\u2019s personal development is undisputed. \u00a0For these core reasons, all individuals should be guaranteed a fair opportunity to receive an adequate education.<\/p>\n

While an ordered environment is crucial to effective education, it is no longer a secret that our education system has failed to maintain a positive learning environment by imposing strict and punitive discipline techniques.\u00a0 Recently, schools across the country have begun exploring alternative disciplinary methods. \u00a0In the CFCC Student Fellows Program II, I have researched and charted out promising practices nationwide that are being used in place of suspensions and expulsions in schools. \u00a0An analysis of changes introduced in various states suggests there is growing concern about striking a balance between school discipline and access to education. \u00a0The effectiveness of suspensions and expulsions as disciplinary methods has been called into question because, while school discipline could be compared to a balancing act, it is mostly about \u201cconvincing students who are behaving badly to correct their behavior while also standing ready to banish anyone who interferes with the learning of others. \u00a0Getting discipline right is an integral characteristic of a good school. Getting it wrong can be a disaster.\u201d[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

Maryland has joined many other states, cities, and districts to reform its disciplinary practices, in an effort to keep children in school.\u00a0 To this end, Delegates A. Washington, Angel, D. Barnes, Haynes, Lierman, Pena\u2013Melnyk, Sydnor, Tarlau, Walker, and M. Washington introduced House Bill 1287, \u201cCommission on the School-to-Prison Pipeline and Restorative Practices,\u201d during the 2017 legislative session.\u00a0 House Bill 1287 creates a commission that will study the school-to-prison pipeline, examine national best practices for training teachers and principals on restorative practices, and recommend whether to redesign school discipline policy to make it consistent with restorative justice practices and to eliminate the school-to-prison pipeline in Maryland.<\/p>\n

As a CFCC Student Fellow, I studied the impact of harsh and comprehensive school disciplinary practices on families\u2019 lives. \u00a0I spent the fall 2016 semester researching innovative restorative and alternative disciplinary practices in schools. \u00a0Considering the knowledge of the subject that I now have, I was asked to submit written testimony to both the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee in support of HB 1287.\u00a0 I took the opportunity to express my support for the creation of a commission to examine how to make disciplinary practices more effective, which could contribute to a better relationship between students and educators, thereby increasing the opportunity for students to stay in school and receive their education.<\/p>\n

After the House and Senate Committees passed HB 1287, the Maryland House of Delegates and the Senate voted to adopt it.\u00a0 It is now an Enrolled Bill.\u00a0 I am excited and hopeful that with the passage of HB 1287, we may one day have a school environment where conflicts are addressed based on values underlying restorative practices, such as cooperation, mutual understanding, trust, and respect.\u00a0 In an effort to combat the school-to-prison pipeline, this approach will enable students to talk through their experiences in a safe place, without the fear of school suspension or expulsion.<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/research\/2017-brown-center-report-part-iii-race-and-school-suspensions\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Christelle-grace Lowe, CFCC Student Fellow (2016-2017) Education is a necessity that allows a person to develop her personality and identity, as well as her physical and intellectual capabilities.\u00a0 Education allows the transmission of principles common to new generations and the preservation and perpetuation of a society\u2019s values. Overall, the contribution of education to an individual\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4169,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/cfcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/779"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/cfcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/cfcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/cfcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4169"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/cfcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=779"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/cfcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/779\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1050,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/cfcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/779\/revisions\/1050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/cfcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/cfcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/cfcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}