LEADVILLE, CO – A school district in rural Colorado is shifting its approach to student discipline in an effort to keep more kids in school and out of trouble - part of a growing trend away from '90s-era zero-tolerance policies that fed a rise in what's been called the school-to-prison pipeline.

Ben Cairns, new principal of Lake County High School in Leadville, said a combination of stricter rules, clear consequences and the softer approach of restorative justice help shift a school's culture, whereas suspending students often leads to more risky behaviors and much worse long-term outcomes.

"Rather than teaching kids and working through things with kids and talking through things with kids and helping kids learn and grow from their mistakes,” Cairns said, "it often puts kids on a track out of school.”

Instead of imposing automatic suspensions or long-term expulsions when kids break the rules, he said, teachers guide them through a "restorative justice” process, where they resolve conflicts by learning how their actions impact others, and are held accountable in meaningful ways.

Principal Cairns worked with staff to recognize and talk openly about implicit biases. A recent Justice Policy Institute report found zero-tolerance policies increased suspension rates disproportionately for students of color, and frequently led to their first contact with the criminal justice system.

Kerrie Dallman, president of the Colorado Education Association, said unions are shifting their focus to the impact of institutional racism on kids.

"Educators have a very important role to play in terms of reducing the school-to-prison pipeline and decreasing both suspensions and expulsions in Colorado public schools,” Dallman said.

Research has shown that incarceration can have profound effects on the health and well-being of communities, beyond just the individual students and their families. Dallman said that allocating more resources to address students' social and emotional health would help reduce discipline problems.

A school discipline report card released by the advocacy group Padres & Jóvenes Unidos determined Lake County's former discipline practices led to some of the state's highest out-of-school suspension rates, especially among Latino students. Cairns said the report has helped the school improve its policies.

"The big shift came from community input and the community saying, 'Our children are not being treated fairly by the system,’” Cairns said. "We need to have more nuanced and thoughtful ways of approaching, you know, misconduct in schools."

He said using the restorative-justice approach has given the school flexibility and prioritizes relationships in order to teach respect, forgiveness and accountability.

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This story was produced with original reporting from Alan Gottlieb for The Colorado Trust. Find out more at The Colorado Trust.org.





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Efforts to keep young people out of the criminal justice system are working, according to a new Sentencing Project report.

Elie Zwiebel, attorney and executive director with the Transformative Justice Project of Colorado, said the vast majority of adolescents in the justice system - disproportionately children of color and other marginalized groups - have committed low-level, non-violent offenses.

He said programs that bring young people face to face with victims, and help them repair the harms they caused, send an important message.

"We are saying that we value keeping those young people in our neighborhoods," said Zwiebel, "because we recognize that they should have a chance to learn and grow, and to ensure that they can become pro-social beneficial members of their communities."

The report highlights a decade-long effort to increase diversion programs in Colorado. Today, half the state's court districts divert adolescents to restorative justice programs.

More than 90% complete the program, fewer than one in 10 commit a new offense, and 99% of victims reported being satisfied with the process.

Dick Mendel, senior research fellow for youth justice at The Sentencing Project and the report's author, said community-based programs also benefit taxpayers.

The average cost of locking up an adolescent is $588 a day, but it costs just $75 a day for programs with wraparound services.

"Diversion tends to be cheaper," said Mendel. "It's not a net cost, it's a net savings, even in the short term. And it's especially a net savings financially in the long term, because these young people are much less likely to come back."

The report challenges political rhetoric that only tough-on-crime policies can make communities safer.

Researchers found that being arrested in adolescence actually increases the likelihood of recidivism, and greatly reduces a child's chances for success in school and beyond.

Zwiebel said he believes it's time for a different approach.

"We have tried - as a nation, and as individual communities within our nation - to implement tough-on-crime policies for decades," said Zwiebel. "For decades we tried that, and it didn't work."




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A new report showed a decade after being passed, Kentucky's juvenile justice reform law is getting results.

It found 60% of juvenile cases were diverted to alternative programs in 2020, compared to 41% in 2013. Instead of being sent to in detention centers, kids in diversion programs participate in home supervision, group homes, foster care, community programs and wraparound services.

Richard Mendel, senior youth justice research fellow for The Sentencing Project, said the state has also made strides in reducing racial disparities among kids whose cases are diverted. He pointed out statewide coordinators work across counties to help youth and their families navigate the system and find alternatives to detention.

"Kentucky looked at this, the state, and they very quickly changed their process for notifying people," Mendel explained. "Instead of sending a form letter, they started calling and engaging the families, and explaining why it's better to keep your kid out of court."

According to the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, in 2022, 982 youths were placed in an alternative program. In the first half of last year, 726 were placed. A spokesperson for the Cabinet said the number is expected to continue to increase, year-over-year.

Mendel added the goals of alternative programs are to ensure the public remains safe and the young person is set on a positive life path to reduce the odds of reoffending in childhood or as an adult.

"Diversion tends to be cheaper," Mendel emphasized. "It's not a net cost, it's a net savings, even in the short term. And it's especially a net savings financially in the long term, because these young people are much less likely to come back."

Last year, Gov. Andy Beshear signed Senate Bill 162, which provides more than $25 million in funding for Department of Juvenile Justice staff salaries, transportation costs and expanded programming and diversion resources, such as residential psychiatric treatment for youth with severe mental health issues.


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A new report by national researchers says Iowa is making progress in reforming its juvenile justice system, and finding ways to steer kids away from crime - long term.

The state convened a task force last year to study youth crime diversion programs.

Senior Research Fellow for Youth Justice with The Sentencing Project, Dick Mendel, said Iowa is one of the states making progress on addressing juvenile justice issues, by focusing on ways to keep kids from being incarcerated - and maybe discouraging them from committing crimes in the first place.

"Diversion tends to be cheaper," said Mendel. "It's not a net cost, it's a net savings, even in the short term. And it's especially a net savings financially in the long term, because these young people are much less likely to come back."

Iowa has also implemented restorative justice programs, which engage young people in repairing the harm caused by their behavior. That can often mean face-to-face meetings with their victims.

The Sentencing Project report also shows that Black youth in Iowa tend to be arrested for disorderly conduct more than white youth by a factor of 8 to 1, despite comprising a much smaller percentage of the state's population.

Mendel said while Iowa and other U.S. states are starting to bolster diversion programs, the idea of finding ways to rehabilitate young people and keep them from offending again is not new.

"When you look at other nations, 75 to 80% of the young people who are identified as possibly being fit for prosecution, are diverted," said Mendel. "Other countries have seen this research, and they've responded."

Iowa, Florida, Georgia, Kansas and Utah now track results of their diversion programs, which Mendel sais helps those states to make them more effective.




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