Impact of established restorative practices in an urban high-school environment

Programs based on restorative justice theory—also known as restorative practices—have gained popularity as a way of resolving conflicts in public-school settings. To estimate the impact of restorative practices on an entire school population, this study uses a propensity score matching analysis approach to compare disciplinary and attendance outcome measures between students attending a school with established services and an equivalent comparison group drawn from another school building within the same school district. Both school buildings in the study are high schools that are part of the same midsized urban school district, located in the midwestern region of the United States. The study finds that students in the school with established restorative services had lower tardy rates, suspension rates, and absenteeism versus a matched comparison group drawn from the other school building in the district, which did not have established restorative services. Estimates of the difference in rates associated with being in a school with established restorative services versus a comparison group are provided.