School-to-Prison Pipeline: Restorative Justice Cuts Suspensions and Expulsions

Since suspensions and expulsions are correlated with involvement in the juvenile justice system, I posted yesterday about a new research report that showed that suspension is overused for middle school students and has a disparate impact on youth of color -- African American students in particular.
One solution: mediation. And here's evidence from two Connecticut schools that mediation lowers suspension and expulsion rates. (Hat tip to Abby Anderson of the Connecticut Juvenile Justice Alliance.)
If that's not convincing enough, check out this international report (see photo) showing that restorative justice and mediation in the schools has a significant positive impact on student behavior. When these techniques were implemented in 10 schools in the U.S. and Canada, large drops occurred in suspensions and "behavioral incidents."
Has your school district used restorative justice? What's been your experience?