Does Restorative Action Work?

Tabitha Finamore, Caitlyn Mason, Teah Swartzon 

It’s no secret that in recent years following the pandemic, there’s been an increased societal focus on mental health and its relation to social and emotional development. And like other California schools, OCSA chooses to allocate funds for mental health resources. These can extend from increased access to psychologists to introducing new disciplinary programs. 

One of these developing programs is restorative practices, alternatively called “restorative action” or a “restorative approach.” The broader goal of restorative practices is to identify the harm that’s been done in a situation, what can be done to move past that harm, and ensure that harm does not continue.

If two students who have engaged in a conflict agree to participate in restorative action, they may engage in a “restorative circle,” a structured conversation that allows everyone to share their thoughts and feelings about the incident.

Dr. William Wallace, assistant principal of facilities and supervision, helped officially introduce these practices into OCSA’s disciplinary policy in 2021, but the administration has been discussing them since 2020.  

Due to the school’s demonstrated need for a more holistic approach to discipline, restorative action was introduced to serve the gaps found in most traditional disciplines. 

“We [were] not finding as many ways to solve conflicts as we would have liked,” said Wallace OCSA’s disciplinary processes before the induction of restoration practices, “Restorative practices exist hand-in-hand with your more traditional disciplinary approaches.” 

Many people feel their confidence in OCSA administration has wavered after experiencing restorative action processes, including parents.   

“I just had this sinking feeling that there was nothing I could do to help my child,” said one anonymous parent of their interaction with administration, “I did what I thought was right, and my child was hurt repeatedly.” 

However, other students chose not to participate in restorative action, and following that decision were unhappy with the treatment their case received. 

“When I decided that restorative action wasn’t the right choice for me, it felt like admin didn’t know where to go from there,” said an anonymous student, “It was almost like my case was thrown out.” 

With students alleging a lack of communication during and after the restorative process, there seems to be a lack of transparency from the administration regarding what restorative action involves. 

“During my case investigation, we were in this weird limbo,” said another anonymous student, “[It is] like they weren’t telling me anything.” 

In the case of minor infractions, such as tardiness, restorative practices can encourage accountability and self-reflection. 

“If you're [frequently] tardy to school, we have a tardy reflection process where you answer questions like: Why am I tardy? How is this impacting my grades? How is it impacting my family? How is it impacting my school life,” said Wallace, “And then you sit down with your counselor or myself and talk about that. There are reflective pieces that we're asking people to do when they get in trouble, and those are all part of that restorative process.” 

When asked how the administration handles specific situations, such as repeat violations, the answer often received is that cases are investigated on a “case-by-case basis,” without a cut-and-dried formula or procedure. And while it’s important to acknowledge that all cases require different resources and strategies, students are asking for more transparency about the process and how cases are handled.  

“I want more clarity,” said an anonymous student, “I want to know that administration is trying.”