Carson City School District

Carson City School District Plan for Restorative Discipline   

This Restorative Discipline Plan was developed by the Carson City School District’s (CCSD) District Intervention Assistance Team (DIAT) with feedback from site-based school safety teams that include students, parents/guardians, community members, educators, and administrators.

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SAFE AND CONNECTED SCHOOLS:

The Carson City School District Board of Trustees recognizes that maintaining a safe and productive learning environment is essential to its mission to empower students with the skills, knowledge, values and opportunities to thrive. Necessary and appropriate disciplinary measures, including restorative practices and interventions, will be taken to address the misconduct of students who engage in behaviors that distract and disrupt the mission of the District.   

The Carson City School District Board of Trustees recognizes that maintaining a safe and productive learning environment is essential to its mission

to empower students with the skills, knowledge, values, and opportunities to thrive. Necessary and appropriate disciplinary measures, including restorative practices and interventions, will be taken to address the misconduct of students who engage in behaviors that distract and disrupt the mission of the District. CCSD believes all students have the right to:

• Experience a positive, safe, and respectful learning environment.
• Learn from a highly qualified staff who do their best every day.
• Expect patience and nonjudgmental guidance as they learn to navigate this confusing world.
• Make and learn from their mistakes.
• Learn from motivating adults who believe in their individual dreams and are committed to helping them fulfill those dreams.
• Be surrounded by caring adults who support and respect them for who they are individually.
• Be provided equitable and diverse education with the appropriate resources to be successful.
• Engage as active members of their school and community.
• Be heard and have a voice in all aspects of their education.
• Understand existing rules, their purposes, and the opportunity to express concerns with perceived inequities.
• Be open, honest, and express themselves in a respectful manner.
• Be exposed to authentic, real world learning opportunities that will prepare them for their future.

All students are expected to follow District policies and regulations, school rules of conduct, and city, state, and federal law. Students who disregard established policies, rules, regulations, or laws are subject to behavioral intervention and progressive discipline. All students are expected to adhere to appropriate standards of conduct while at school, traveling to and from school, during lunch, and while involved in school sponsored activities. Students representing the school in athletics, band, drill team, and other school groups must conform to standards established by their coaches or sponsors in accordance with policy and regulations established by the District, as well as the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association (NIAA) and any other athletic or activity association to which their school belongs. 

MULTI-TIERED SYSTEM OF SUPPORTS (MTSS):

CCSD employs a Multi-Tiered System of Supports model with a focus on prevention to deter negative student behaviors. Through the MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Support) structure, teams utilize the Problem-Solving Model to identify students who engage in challenging behaviors, develop a plan for how school staff will reteach/support the students, implement the plan, and analyze implementation results for effectiveness. If student behavior falls outside district expectations, district established behavioral guidelines will be used by school administrators to determine appropriate consequences and/or interventions for student behavioral violations. In all instances, these guidelines may be modified contingent upon the level of severity of the incident and aligned with age, developmental level, and other extenuating circumstances. Whenever possible and appropriate, schools will provide restorative disciplinary practices which include 1) holding a student accountable for his or her behavior; 2) restoration or remedies related to the behavior of the student; 3) relief for any victim of the student; and 4) changing the behavior of the student. 

Questions for school/district teams to consider with habitual challenging behaviors:

• Are we consistently providing Tier 1 (school-wide) behavioral support?
• Can the student consistently exhibit problem-solving, conflict resolution skills with peers and/or adults?
• How is the student achieving academic success at the expected level?
• Has the parent/family/caregiver of the student been informed and involved in the problem-solving process?
• What prosocial and evidence-based interventions have been implemented?
• Was the intervention implemented with fidelity?
• What setting events (i.e., environmental factors) at school may be contributing to the challenging behavior(s)?
• What is the hypothetical function of challenging behavior? What might the student be trying to access or escape from adults, peers, or objects?
• What level of engagement has the Native American liaison, school counselor, school social worker and/or school psychologist been involved with the student?
• Has the student engaged in any specific behavioral skill training (such as anger management, conflict resolution) intervention?
• Has the student accessed mental health/wrap around supports through Project AWARE or outside agencies?
• Who does the student have a strong adult relationship with a staff member on site?
• Does the student have a behavior contract, behavior support plan, or a functional behavioral assessment with a paired behavior intervention plan?
• Has the student been referred to the site Intervention Assistance Team and/or the District Intervention Assistance Team?
• Has the student been diagnosed with a medical/psychiatric condition which requires medication?
• If so, does the student require a 504 plan?
• Does the student have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP)? If so, are the students’ needs being adequately addressed through the IEP?

RESTORATIVE PRACTICES:

The Carson City School District Board of Trustees believes that genuine relationships and a sense of safety are at the heart of a positive school climate. To promote and support schools in building a positive climate for students and staff, the district employs restorative practices to address student misconduct.

Restorative practices in schools are strategies that use the underlying principles of restorative justice instead of traditional punishment measures. They represent a positive step forward in helping all students—from elementary school through middle school and high school—learn how to navigate conflict resolution, take ownership of their behavior, and practice empathy, perspective-taking, and forgiveness. Demonstrated through research, “human beings are happier, more cooperative, and productive, and more likely to make positive changes in their behavior when those in positions of authority do things with them, rather than to them or for them” (Wachtel, 2014).

Examples of restorative processes include:

• Affective Statements
• Community-building Circles
• Restorative Chats/Questions
• Responsive Circles
• Restorative Conferencing

***Note: Responsive Circles and/or Restorative Conferencing should be used with caution and all contexts taken into consideration prior to placing victim and offender together in a space. Individual Responsive Circles or Restorative Conferences may need to be utilized for restoration. Please use restorative philosophies of doing WITH rather than TO or FOR and continued demonstration of dignity, respect, and mutual concern for all involved.

Restorative approaches are designed to build community by empowering students to learn from their mistakes, understand the impact of their actions, and grow personally in their ability to problem-solve and make responsible decisions. The goal of any restorative practice is to build a sense of community in the classroom by:

• Providing pathways to repair harm
• Bringing together individuals impacted by an issue in a dialogue 
• Achieving a mutual understanding
• Coming to an agreement about resolving the conflict and moving forward

Examples of practices and interventions:

Restorative Chat/Questions—should include separate conversations with each party; may bring each party together with professional judgement for appropriate and low-level incidents:

RESTORATIVE DISCIPLINE MATRIX