The National Center on Restorative Justice’s Restorative Justice Laws Database was created as a resource for restorative justice advocates, practitioners, and researchers as well as policy-makers across the United States. Our aim is to organize and display in an easily navigated format the ways in which states have codified the use of restorative justice approaches.
Thank you to Shannon Sliva (University of Denver) and Thalia González (UC Law San Francisco) for their advisement and expertise throughout the process of creating this database. Thank you to Karen Sheu and Anna VanRoy for their data collection work.
This Restorative Justice Laws Database builds on an earlier legislative directory created in 2014 by Shannon Sliva in partnership with Carolyn Lambert (Georgia State University College of Law) and hosted by the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work from 2019 to 2024.
The laws included in this database were identified by conducting a search in Westlaw and LexisNexis using the terms visible under “Form of Practice” in the database search options below. Only laws that feature one or more of these terms are included in the database. Use of the terms in the text of the law does not necessarily mean that restorative justice practice is occurring in the given jurisdiction.
The NCORJ is committed to continuing to update this database. If you see something that is missing or a correction is required, please be in touch. For more information about the development of the database, to get assistance navigating it, or to request a copy of the raw data for research purposes, please contact Lindsey Pointer (lpointer@vermontlaw.edu).
1. The Department shall develop a statewide framework for restorative justice. The statewide framework must, without limitation: (a) In accordance with NRS 392.472, establish standards for a progressive discipline plan based on restorative justice to enable a public school to…
Existing law requires the Department to adopt regulations relating to restorative justice in disciplining pupils. Existing law also requires the Department to post on its Internet website certain guidance relating to the discipline of pupils, including, without limitation, restorative justice.…
The Department shall develop one or more examples of a progressive discipline plan based on restorative justice which must include, without limitation:
For each school in the district, including, without limitation, each charter school sponsored by the district, information on: (1) The plan for progressive discipline used by the school and any disciplinary practices based on restorative justice used by the school;
The school shall provide a plan of action based on restorative justice to the parent or legal guardian of the pupil or, if the pupil is an unaccompanied pupil, the pupil.
The Legislature finds that: (1) The resolution of certain disputes and offenses can be costly and time consuming in the context of a formal judicial proceeding; (2) Employing restorative justice and mediation to address disputes can provide an avenue for…
(10) Develop and supervise a uniform system to create and maintain a roster of approved centers and victim youth conferencing and other restorative justice facilitators who are affiliated with approved centers. The roster shall be made available to courts and…
One or more meetings between, at a minimum, a school attendance officer, a school social worker, or a school administrator or his or her designee, the person who has legal or actual charge or control of the child, and the…
During the period of the restorative justice or dispute resolution process, any applicable civil statute of limitations shall be tolled as to the parties. The tolling shall commence on the date the approved center accepts the case and shall end…
Before the restorative justice or dispute resolution process begins, an approved center shall provide the parties with a written statement setting forth the procedures to be followed.