Replacing Exclusionary Discipline with Restorative Practices to Reduce the Achievement Gap

WHEREAS, Exclusionary discipline deprives students of the opportunity to learn by removing them from the classroom through punishments such as suspensions and expulsions; and 

WHEREAS, The United States has dramatically increased exclusionary discipline as a form of zero-tolerance policies in response to minor nonviolent misbehaviors such as tardiness or "disrespect"; and

WHEREAS, Suspensions and expulsions have negative long-term impacts on students who have been suspended or expelled; and 

WHEREAS, Suspended students are more likely to suffer academically, repeat a grade, and drop out of school; and 

WHEREAS, Students across all racial and ethnic groups experienced incomplete learning and suffered from learning loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic; and 

WHEREAS, Black students not proficient in third-grade reading and Black students not proficient in eighth-grade reading declined in their reading proficiency during the COVID-19 pandemic; and 

WHEREAS, Stark racial disparities in educational opportunities resulting in lower academic outcomes for Black students existed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic; and 

WHEREAS, Black students are twice as likely to be referred to law enforcement and three times as likely to be arrested as their white classmates; and 

WHEREAS, Black students with disabilities are twice as likely to be referred to law enforcement than their white classmates with disabilities; and 

WHEREAS, Restorative practices offer a way to mediate and repair relationships between offenders and their victims and have successfully reduced school suspensions to reduce learning loss for suspended students; and 

WHEREAS, Restorative practices improve overall equity in schools and build community among students, teachers, and administrators. 

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People urges federal, state, and local policymakers to implement and fully fund evidence-based restorative practices, positive behavioral interventions and supports, and tiered systems of support and to devise means of rewarding schools that report accurate numbers for decreasing suspension rates for minority students and to call on states to publicly report their suspension rates disaggregated by race, gender, and ethnicity.