‘Moderate’ Governor Abigail Spanberger Signs Bill Forcing Virginia Schools To Consider ‘Restorative Disciplinary Practices’ Before Suspending Students

Such practices include a ‘restorative circle,’ a ‘centuries-old indigenous practice’ in which participants sit in a circle to discuss their actions

By Peter Hasson

“Moderate” Virginia governor Abigail Spanberger signed into law a bill from her Democratic colleagues in the state legislature that forbids the state’s public schools from suspending or expelling a student until they consider “restorative disciplinary practices” like “peer mediation” or a “restorative circle.” Schools that choose not to deploy such practices must file a report explaining why they imposed “exclusionary discipline” rather than “an evidence-based restorative disciplinary practice.”

The bill, introduced by Democratic state representative Delores McQuinn, states that “no public elementary or secondary school student shall be suspended, expelled, or excluded from attendance at school unless the school first considers at least one evidence-based restorative disciplinary practice.” Examples of such practices listed in the bill include “mentoring, a peer jury, peer mediation, a post-conflict resolution program, a preventative program, a restorative circle, and any other disciplinary practice” that fits the following parameters:

— “Establishes and supports goals that increase connection to community, restores relationships, builds empathy, and ensures that all perspectives are considered”

— “Addresses the needs of those harmed and promotes healing”

— “Responds to behavior that violates expectations by balancing accountability with understanding of behavioral health needs, reducing disruption, and keeping students in school”

— “Engages individuals affected by an incident and includes community members reflecting the cultural and demographic diversity of the school community”

— “Determines responses through a collaborative process involving students, families, educators, and community members”

— “Provides solutions tailored to students’ cultures”

— “Implements policies informed by the science of the social, emotional, and cognitive development of children”

Certain offenses, like “threat of use of a firearm or other weapon of mass harm” and “serious bodily injury to another,” are exempt from the requirement. In other cases, if a school determines to suspend or expel a student before first deploying a “restorative disciplinary practice,” the school must “document in the student’s disciplinary record … the rationale for the decision to impose exclusionary discipline, including any factors supporting the decision not to utilize an evidence-based restorative disciplinary practice.”