UC Law Hosts Restorative Justice Working Conference

On October 12 and 13, Professor Thalia González, affiliated faculty with the Center for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution (CNDR) and Co-Director of the Center for Racial and Economic Justice (CREJ) at UC Law San Francisco hosted a working conference supported by the Spencer Foundation with collaborators from the Loyola University Chicago Schools of Education and Law (Dr. Amy Nelson Christensen and Miranda Johnson, JD).

Olivia Marcucci and Alexander Parker from Johns Hopkins University School of Education

The working conference, and associated grant, is the first to support new research in the field as well as develop an infrastructure for a national working group to advance antiracist research education research of restorative practices in PK-12 schools. The in-person working conference was the second of a three-part convening series and opened on Thursday morning with a welcome circle facilitated by Dr. Fania Davis and Malachai Scott (RJOY). The working conference also included the voices and expertise of youth, led by Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth (RJOY), a national leader in the field of restorative justice in public education.

During the course of the working conference, participants (including researchers, practitioners, and community-based leaders) presented and provided feedback on eight draft papers that will be edited by Professors González, Nelson Christensen and Johnson for a peer reviewed volume on this critical topic. The papers ranged from presentations of new theoretical frameworks, single-site case studies, and evaluations of systematic implementation.