Promoting Equity and Inclusion using Restorative Practices for Students with and At Risk for Disabilities - Annotated Bibliography - 2019

Oct 15, 2026

Annotated bibliography prepared by Sonja Gadd and Bettie Ray Butler (2019) synthesizing research on restorative practices for students of color and students with and at risk for disabilities. It explains how restorative practices address disciplinary disproportionality by prioritizing relationship-building, repairing harm, and transforming conflict through proactive and responsive approaches. It also reviews evidence on school exclusion effects and summarizes literature on zero-tolerance policies, suspensions, and outcomes such as improved problem solving, school climate, and educational achievement.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

What are Restorative Practices?

Why are Restorative Practices important in Transition Planning?

What does the literature say about Restorative Practices in Transition Planning?

References

Promoting Equity and Inclusion using Restorative Practices for Students with and At Risk for Disabilities Annotated Bibliography Prepared by Sonja Gadd and Bettie Ray Butler 2019 What are Restorative Practices? Students of color and students with and at risk for disabilities have been subject to school exclusion through the increased use of suspensions and expulsions oftentimes for relatively minor infractions (Skiba, 2002; Skiba, Michael, Nardo, & Peterson, 2002) . Nationally, Black students represent 15% of the student population, but account for 33% of out-of-school suspensions. Similarly, students with disabilities make up 14 percent of enrollment, but receive over 25% of suspensions (Office for Civil Rights, 2018) . Disciplinary disproportionality, however, is not new. In fact, evidence of racial disparities in school discipline began to emerge as early as 1975 (Children’s Defense Fund, 1975), and out-of-school suspensions for students with disabilities has steadily increased since the 1980s (Wagner, Newman, & Cameto, 2004) . The persistence and pervasiveness of this issue has ignited considerable debate and an urgent need to identify more equitable and inclusive disciplinary interventions. The use of restorative practices, now popular in many schools, offer a step forward in the search of a promising solution to the disparate and overly punitive treatment of students of color and students with and at risk for disabilities. Restorative practices are student-centered interventions that are designed to establish positive relationships with all students (Kline, 2016) . There is both a proactive and responsive component to restorative practices that can, and perhaps should, work in tandem to yield the most desirable outcome (Wachtel, 2013) . The proactive component of restorative practices focuses on creating just and equitable learning environments and nurturing healthy relationships; whereas the responsive component focuses on repairing harm and transforming conflict (Evans & Vaandering, 2016) . Why are Restorative Practices important in Transition Planning? School exclusion can have detrimental, long-term effects on post-school success. Students who are frequently suspended tend to have higher dropout rates, unemployment, and greater risk of incarceration (Losen, 2015) . The adoption of restorative practices has the potential to offset, if not reverse, these negative consequences. The benefits of using restorative practices include, but are not limited to better problem solving, reduced recidivism, improved educational achievement, socioemotional growth, and increased community interconnectedness (Harris & Tsui, 2014) . What does the literature say about Restorative Practices in Transition Planning? Several studies have outlined the importance, as well as, the impact of restorative practices. Generally, the research suggests: 􀂃 Zero tolerance policies punish both major and minor infractions uniformly and harshly; which, in turn, has disproportionately impacted students of color and students with disabilities and caused researchers to examine its harmful effects (Skiba, 2002); 􀂃 School suspension is one of the most widely used disciplinary responses, yet it is ineffective in promoting prosocial behaviors (Skiba & Rausch, 2006); 􀂃 Restorative practices, as an alternative to school suspensions, offer an inclusive, educational, non-punitive approach to promoting inclusion, community, and selfefficacy when attempting to resolve and manage conflict (Kline, 2016); 􀂃 Restorative practices can be implemented both formally (e.g., restorative conference, peace circles, family-and/or peer-mediated conferences, etc. ) and informally (e.g., non-violent communication (NVC), love and logic principles, etc.; Wachtel, 2014); and 􀂃 When implemented with fidelity, restorative practices have effectively reduced the discipline gap, improved academic outcomes, and positively impacted school climate and community

FAQs

What problem does the document describe as a driver for restorative practices?

The document describes how students of color and students with and at risk for disabilities experience increased school exclusion, including suspensions and expulsions, leading to disciplinary disproportionality and long-term harm.

How does the document define restorative practices?

Restorative practices are defined as student-centered interventions that build positive relationships. The approach includes both proactive components (creating just learning environments and nurturing relationships) and responsive components (repairing harm and transforming conflict).

What outcomes does the document associate with restorative practices in discipline and transition planning?

The document links restorative practices to better problem solving, reduced negative consequences of exclusion, improved educational achievement and socioemotional growth, and stronger community interconnectedness, especially when implemented with fidelity.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Alex Sinclair