Virginia Democrats are looking to expand a pilot program to bring restorative justice to the Commonwealth’s schools. The idea comes as kids themselves sought to make up for their past mistakes. Brad Kutner has this report
AcaCia is 13 years old and said she was facing bullying in gym class. The incident escalated.
“Even though I was upset, I chose not to fight. I went to a counselor instead," AcaCia said at the capital Tuesday. "This wasn’t the first time it happened, to me or to others. And even after asking for help it felt like no one was really listening. I’m sharing this because students need to listen before things get escalated.”
AcaCia, we’re only using her first name because of her age, was one of several young Virginians who said they made mistakes at school and faced a punitive system that only made things worse.
Enter a legislative effort that aims to limit the expulsion of public-school students unless the school first implements a restorative practice. There are exceptions for gun, serious drug or other aggravated circumstances. It also asks the Department of Education to collect data on punishments in schools.
Here’s the House patron, Richmond Delegate Delores McQuinn.
“If we can catch young people early enough, we can help change their lives. We can bring about transformation changes, so they are able to live a successful life," McQuinn said. "But just expelling and suspending them is not the answer.”
Arlington Senator Barbara Favola is carrying the funding for the pilot program in the Senate. She said a similar program in her district has been successful.
“We want to hold students accountable, but more importantly we want to do it with empathy and with evidence-based practices,” Favola said Tuesday.
The bill proposes a top-down mandate, forcing school administrators to first utilize restorative practices rather than immediately suspending or otherwise disciplining students who are violent in school.
This isn't the first time McQuinn has proposed such reforms. In 2024 the bill made it to former Governor Glenn Youngkin's desk, but he vetoed it saying it "proposes a top-down mandate, forcing school administrators to first utilize restorative practices rather than immediately suspending or otherwise disciplining students who are violent in school."
But Kiara Brown with Transformative Changes, a group that advocates for Black and Brown student voices in the youth criminal justice conversation, said Youngkin and his conservative counterparts were rehashing old tough-on-crime policies that historically did more harm than good.
“This requires a shift in culture, from punitive to restorative,” Brown said Tuesday. “Kids are being targeted for minor offenses, and it's a small portion of children engaging in more serious offenses which this bill would exempt.”
While an early vote on Favola's version passed unanimously, its $1 million price tag will also have to clear both chambers’ money committees in the coming weeks.
