Improved discipline at LAUSD

Going to school should not mean a point of entry into the juvenile justice system for students. The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) took a major step toward this goal by reforming the student discipline system.

A few days ago, LAUSD made advances in a series of changes that started last year to modify how youths are treated when they get involved in small fights or are in possession of alcohol or a small amount of marihuana for their own use. Instead of being arrested or ticketed, these students will be referred to 35 counselors who were specifically hired to tackle this issue.

This process is called “restorative justice” and its goal is for districts to deal with students who have certain disciplinary issues instead of sending them outside the school to juvenile court with a ticket. This is a change in the “zero tolerance” polices expanded in the 1980s, which sent many students into the juvenile justice system, making it harder for them to graduate.

It also eliminates a system that disproportionately punished Latino students and especially African American students. The latter account for one third of the almost 9,000 arrests and tickets issued during the 2011-2012 school year, despite only making up 11% of LAUSD’s student body.

The amount of counselors available to implement restorative justice is very low, given the number of cases they will be handling. However, we must start at the beginning and it is a matter of closely following the new process in order to adapt it to the needs.

A shift in strategy does not mean that students who sell drugs or hurt others won’t be punished. This reform is not for them. It is for youths who make a mistake in judgment that is not serious enough to make it worthy of stigmatizing the student, and even less of sending them into a justice system that could ruin their lives.