Josh Noblitt – St. Mark United Methodist Church Holiday Simmons – Lambda Legal

 Agenda and Objectives  Conocimientos  Defining transformative justice and restorative justice  Strategizing in small groups  Report back  Question, Answer, and open share

 (Re)Familiarize yourself with the concepts of transformative justice and restorative justice  (Re)Familiarize yourself with these concepts through real life examples  Explore the possibilities and the limitations of these concepts  Discuss these possibilities for justice in your communities

 Criminal Justice  Transformative Justice  Restorative Justice

Criminal Justice: - Crime* is a violation of the law and the state - - Violations create guilt - - Justice requires the state to determine blame (guilt) and impose pain (punishment) - - Central Focus: Those that offend getting what they deserve Transformative Justice: -The incident may have occurred as a result, in part, to unhealthy relationships and social systems - Creates obligations to build new or better relationships -Happens on a individual, social, and institutional level - - Changing social systems = preventing re-occurrence Restorative Justice: -Crime* is a violation of people and relationships -Violations create obligations -Justice involves victims, those that offended, & community members -Central Focus: Victim needs and those that offends’ responsibility for repairing harm

Criminal Justice: - What laws have been broken? - - Who did it? - -What do they deserve? Transformative Justice: -What social circumstances promoted the behavior? -What structural similarities exist b/n this incident and others like it? -What measures could prevent future occurrences? Restorative Justice: -Who has been hurt? - What are their needs? - Whose obligations are these?

A series of policies and practices that work to criminalize students, push them out of schools, and into the criminal justice system, and low-wage workforce

 Indirectly: suspension, expulsions, students sent to alternative schools and other punitive forms of discipline  Direct impact: School-based arrests, tardiness tickets, and summonses that involve youth in the justice system  Zero tolerance policies  High stakes testing  Decreased funding for curriculum development and teacher training, increased funding for discipline measures (metal detectors, security guards, etc.)  The pipeline disproportionately impacts students of color, students with special needs, & LGBTQ students

LGBT students are subject to bullying and harassment from other students, educators, AND school safety officers LGBT students face harsher punishments for similar infractions than their heterosexual counterparts Unchecked anti-LGBT bullying and harassment in school leads LGBT students and students perceived to be LGBT to take matters into their own hands, resulting in higher rates of school violence, discipline and incarceration Nathaniel Williams story

 Limit the use of expulsions, disciplinary transfers, out-of- school suspensions, referrals to law enforcement, and school-based arrests to conduct that poses a serious threat to students and staff.  Comply with or create a public reporting system for school discipline data including expulsions, in- and out-of-school suspensions, school-based arrests, and referrals to law enforcement with data disaggregated by offense, age, grade, gender, gender identity, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, and school.  Consider alternative disciplinary programs when appropriate, including peer mediation, conflict resolution, guidance counseling, peer juries and courts, mentoring, character education, and parental and community involvement initiatives.

“The plea deal announced today ends a tragic chapter in Ventura County. Holding Brandon McInerney accountable for his actions is necessary and right, but putting him behind bars does not solve the problems that led a boy to become a bully, and then a murderer. Homophobia and transphobia, compounded by the lack of counseling and other supports for struggling young people, resulted in Larry King's death and the effective end of Brandon McInerney's life. As adults and as a society, we must find the resolve to fix the broken systems that lost two young lives to hate and fear. The end to this painful chapter must now serve as a new beginning.” – Eliza Byard, Executive Director at GLSEN

 Seeks to hold students who bully accountable for their actions and thereby protecting certain classes of students/identities  Doesn’t usually address the question of what happens to the bullies (protection policies separate from discipline policies) GSA Network’s 2012 Report: “Two Wrongs Don’t Make a Right”

What do we already know:  To find the root of the problem  To have all parties invested in the process (victim, bully, parents, community)  Move away from victim vs. bully and place people in environment What do we need to know:  What’s already happening?  What exactly does RJ mean?  What are the outcomes of programs?

We Must Ask Ourselves?  Will incarcerating this person/people make me and others in my community safer?  Do we need more people in prison?  Could the victim when defending themselves also be brought up on the same charges as those that offend?  Does this only address those who offend, without any responsibility to the victims?  Will a harsher sentence really deter others from engaging in similar behaviors?

What do we need to make changes:  More time  Examples of these models at work  Example of opposing forces coexisting  More deconstruction of masculinity

Diamond and Ronny Ronny was beaten up by a group of students in the school parking lot after a football game. Ronny has a black eye and a swollen lip. Ronny’s father called the principal the next day and is demanding that the police get involved. Before calling the police the principal investigates the incident herself and learns that Diamond and two of her friends beat Ronny up.

Ronny  - 11th grader who is struggling academically  - White male  - A leader on the baseball team  - Admits to having bullied Diamond and her friends on occasion  - Downplays the significance of calling Diamond racial slurs, and claims that it “went both ways” Diamond -10 th grader who is doing well academically - Asian American transgender young woman (MTF) -Says that Ronny constantly bullies she and her friends, has taken money from them, and calls them racial slurs -Admits to beating up Ronny with her friends -Diamond’s mother does not support her gender expression or transitioning but doesn’t want her child to be taunted for it - Diamond’s mother wants Ronny to be penalized for the bullying

Criminal Justice: - What laws have been broken? - - Who did it? - -What do they deserve? Transformative Justice: -What social circumstances promoted the behavior? -What structural similarities exist b/n this incident and others like it? -What measures could prevent future occurrences? Restorative Justice: -Who has been hurt? - What are their needs? - Whose obligations are these?

Each group should answer:  What would the immediate next steps be?  What would be the steps taken in weeks or months to follows?  What concrete responses would be developed?  What are the limitations of these steps?

Contact info:  Holiday Simmons  Josh Noblitt