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).
(g) “Restorative justice” has the same meaning as set forth in section 22-32-144(3). […] (II) In creating and enforcing a school conduct and discipline code pursuant to subsection (2)(a)(I) of this section, each school district board of education, on and…
(1) Each school district, regardless of the number of students expelled by the district, may enter into agreements with appropriate local governmental agencies and, to the extent necessary, with the managing state agencies, including the department of human services and…
(c)(I) On or before June 30, 2024, the department of education shall create and maintain the online training program for hearing officers who conduct expulsion hearings. The department of education shall collaborate with stakeholders on the creation of the online…
(11) “Restorative practices” means evidence and research-based system-level practices that focus on (A) building high-quality, constructive relationships among the school community, (B) holding each student accountable for any challenging behavior, and (C) ensuring each such student has a role in…
For the school year commencing July 1, 2025, and each school year thereafter, each local and regional board of education shall adopt a restorative practices response policy to be implemented by school employees for incidents of challenging behavior or student…
For the school year commencing July 1, 2025, and each school year thereafter, the superintendent of schools for each school district, or an administrator appointed by the superintendent, shall serve as the school climate coordinator for the school district. The…
(a) The Social Emotional Learning and School Climate Advisory Collaborative, established pursuant to section 10-222q, in consultation with the Department of Education, the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, the Department of Children and Families, the Office of Early…
For the school year commencing July 1, 2025, and each school year thereafter, the principal of each school, or a school employee who holds professional certification pursuant to section 10-145, is trained in school climate improvement or restorative practices and…
(b) A school climate improvement plan developed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall align with the Connecticut school climate standards, developed pursuant to section 10-222bb, and include protocols and supports to enhance classroom safety and address challenging behavior.…
Not later than October 1, 2022, the Department of Education shall develop student social-emotional learning standards for grades four to twelve, inclusive. Such standards shall be designed for a multitiered system of support that is culturally relevant and responsive, emphasizes…