Working Paper: NBER ID: w31675
Authors: Anjali Adukia; Benjamin Feigenberg; Fatemeh Momeni
Abstract: School districts historically approached conflict-resolution from a zero-sum perspective: suspend students seen as disruptive and potentially harm them, or avoid suspensions and harm their classmates. Restorative practices (RP) -- focused on reparation and shared ownership of disciplinary justice -- are designed to avoid this trade-off by addressing undesirable behavior without imparting harm. This study examines Chicago Public Schools' adoption of RP. We identify decreased suspensions, improved school climate, and find no evidence of increased classroom disruption. We estimate a 19% decrease in arrests, including for violent offenses, with reduced arrests outside of school, providing evidence that RP substantively changed behavior.
Keywords: Restorative Practices; School Discipline; Student Outcomes; Chicago Public Schools
JEL Codes: I0; I20; I21; I24; J0; J01; J08; J18; K39
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Restorative practices (RP) (L42) | out-of-school suspensions (I24) |
| Restorative practices (RP) (L42) | in-school suspensions (Y40) |
| Restorative practices (RP) (L42) | arrests (K42) |
| Restorative practices (RP) (L42) | violent offenses (K42) |
| Restorative practices (RP) (L42) | nonviolent offenses (K42) |
| Restorative practices (RP) (L42) | school climate (I24) |
| improvements in school climate (I24) | behavioral incidents (D91) |
| Restorative practices (RP) (L42) | student engagement (A22) |