Classrooms Not Courtrooms: Using Cross Sector Collaboration to Support Justice-Involved Youth in Richmond City

Abstract

All over the country, public schools have become feeders into the juvenile and criminal justice systems. Overly harsh and discriminatory zero tolerance policies have systematically excluded young people from educational opportunities through suspensions, placement in alternative settings, and expulsions. In response, districts across the country have begun moving away from zero tolerance policies and implementing more trauma-informed and restorative justice approaches for discipline-related issues. In my cross-sector work with the Virginia Governor’s Children’s Cabinet, the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice, and the Richmond Public Schools, I have led the development of policy and program improvements for youth whose education has been interrupted due to a court charge. In this capstone, I analyze the district’s policies for justice-involved youth through the lens of trauma and restorative justice, demonstrate how I led meaningful conversations with key stakeholders about how the policies impact students, and provide an analysis of how and why changes were able to take place in Richmond City.