NYC Schools Spend $100 Million On Restorative Justice, Resulting In No Justice

The egotists who run the NYC Public School System either live in a bubble that keeps them oblivious to the world around them or, much more likely, they ignore fact and reason to mindlessly pursue their delusional agenda.

In 2015, A policy shift took place under useless Mayor Bill de Blasio. It was then that the New York City Department of Education (DOE) incorrectly decided to implement “restorative justice” (RJ) instead of implementing stricter school discipline in a logical manner. As you can probably guess, the results have been predictably negative.

This liberal delusion started when the DOE began requiring principals to obtain approval from the central office before suspending students in grades K–2. Jennifer Weber, an education behavioral researcher with the Manhattan Institute think tank, explained what happened in her report.

“What began as an alternative became a mandate, forcing administrators to abandon exclusionary options regardless of school context.”

“NYC’s implementation of RJ has failed to achieve its promises. The changes undermined teacher authority and weakened classroom order rather than improving school climate and advancing equity.”

Restorative justice is similar to alternative programs for juveniles and adult criminals, but within the education system. It focuses on mediation, conflict resolution, relationship building, and harm reduction through “circles” involving students and teachers. The aim is to defuse tensions and prevent misbehavior, fights, and violence.

If Penn and Teller were writing this, they would say that this entire idea is Bullsh*t. This liberal mirage is a blend of DEI and stupidity. The only equity in administering justice is to punish all perpetrators equally. If more minorities commit crimes, then they are going to be punished more frequently. That is not unequal justice, and you cannot overhaul an entire system because one segment of a school population commits more infractions. Yet, the advocates of this farce use the same old worn-out nonsensical excuse that the changes are being made in the name of racial and economic equity.

Leftist groups, including the New York Civil Liberties Union, have never understood this straightforward concept. If you’re purple and commit a crime, you will be punished, and the same applies to any race. So, their complaints that suspensions disproportionately punish minorities, particularly black students, are ridiculous. If more black students get out of line, they need to be punished for it. You cannot balance the number of students that get punished by not punishing the guilty or by punishing those who aren’t guilty. That is injustice and fraud; that is not justice.

In her report, Weber highlighted this writing that the new system did nothing to lead, “a shift from punishment to compassion, but the dismantling of the systems that had maintained basic classroom stability.” 

The policy shift was a failure on many fronts. The cost between 2015 and 2024 was $100 million. Police incidents doubled to 4,200 reports this year, and “chronic absenteeism” spiked to a whopping 35 percent, a new study claims.

Weber’s MI-funded study highlighted alarming examples — including some in The Post — of students not facing punishment or accountability for their reprehensible and violent actions.

• Students who subjected a Jewish teacher to Nazi salutes and threats at Brooklyn’s Origins High School last year were sent to a “meditation room,” and their parents were called. But it did not stop the harassment.
• In May, an 8-year-old allegedly stabbed a staff member with a pencil and threatened classmates at PS 8. The school’s response — a “meditation room” and phone calls — was inadequate, families fumed. “He has rights, and so does my child. If he’s threatening my child, what am I supposed to do?” one parent said bluntly.
• The report also cites a 2022 study by the Center for Court Innovation in Brooklyn’s District 18, conducted in five borough high schools with high suspension rates. It found that, despite implementing “restorative justice” practices, there was no statistically significant difference compared with other schools that continued to use the previous discipline system.

The study documented a case from last year when a Jewish teacher at Brooklyn’s Origins High School was subjected to Nazi salutes and threats from students. The school’s inadequate and inappropriate response — making calls to parents and sending the students to spend time in a “meditation room” did absolutely nothing to stop the harassment.

The teacher Danielle Kaminsky and Michael Beaudry, the campus manager, claim they were removed from the school in retaliation for reporting incidents of anti-Jewish and anti-gay discrimination. They have since filed a pending lawsuit against the city. This is just one case that illustrates how, without consequences, the restorative justice environment can leave staff vulnerable, Weber reported.

In a concerning incident, the report details how parents at P.S. 8 on Staten Island protested against their school in May after an eight-year-old allegedly stabbed a staff member with a pencil and threatened classmates.

When the school’s response was again, nothing more than sending the student to a “meditation room” and making phone calls to parents, the families were outraged and picketed the school. The report noted that one parent pointed out the obvious injustice, saying, “He has rights, and so does my child. If he’s threatening my child, what am I supposed to do?”

Weber noted: “The incident reflects a broader concern when schools avoid consequences in the name of compassion, safety, and accountability.”

The foundation for the new system is bogus and totally flawed, so as a result, it can’t help but be harmful. The study was found to contribute to disorder, lack of accountability, and possibly increase chronic absenteeism.

Over the last decade, since the implementation of restorative justice, incidents reported by the NYPD’s school safety division have nearly doubled, rising from 1,200 in the first quarter of 2016 to 4,120 in the first quarter of 2025, according to records.

Chronic student absenteeism—defined as missing 10 percent of school days, which amounts to 18 days in a year—has surged from 26.5 percent in the 2018–19 school year to 34.8 percent in the 2023–24 school year.

This percentage represents approximately one-third of the students in the nation’s largest public school district, equating to around 300,000 students who regularly miss classes.

According to the study, “when classrooms feel chaotic or unpredictable, students simply and regretfully opt out.”

Here’s the real issue: school systems are spending far too much time and money on trying to bring equity to something that will never be equal. Instead of focusing on what our tax dollars are paying them to do … TEACH THE BASICS SO OUR CHILDREN LEARN WHAT THEY NEED TO EXCEL IN SOCIETY!

In NYC’s Public Schools, test scores have been disastrous, with 53 percent of students in grades 3-8 meeting standards on the state’s 2024 standardized math exam, and 49 percent passing the English test.

According to the more rigorous National Assessment of Educational Progress tests, only 33 percent of fourth graders and 23 percent of eighth graders in the city were considered proficient in math.

Similarly, only 28 percent of fourth graders and 29 percent of eighth graders were found to be proficient in English.

The recent MI report follows President Trump’s April executive order, which instructed schools to prohibit using race as a factor in student discipline.

In my opinion, Weber’s report was accurate and truthful, but carefully worded so as not to offend the liberal left too roughly. For instance, the report attributed the failure to produce improvements in student behavior and school safety to a lack of infrastructure and of consistent application to support the program.

“These outcomes highlight a basic problem: schools were never given the necessary tools to make lasting changes in student behavior.”

Weber said restorative justice programs could work to supplement, but not supplant, stricter disciplinary action. 

As an example, seventy-two percent of charter schools report using restorative justice approaches without eliminating classroom removals and suspensions.

The study recommends that the mayor eliminate the policy requiring principals to get central office approval before suspending students in grades K–2.

Additionally, it urges the Department of Education to revise the discipline code to clarify that “exclusionary consequences,” such as suspensions, are acceptable responses to serious or repeated misbehavior.

Weber summed up the report by saying:

“The result has not been better outcomes or more equity, but more disruption, frustration, and fewer tools for the people doing the work.”

A representative for Schools, Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos, demonstrated exactly how out of touch the DOE is by defending this policy as a success.

She claims that suspensions have plummeted by 48 percent, keeping more children in class and engaged.

Really, someone should tell this talking head that suspensions are only down because the soft-touch restorative justice program puts people in “mediation rooms” that do nothing instead of really disciplining them.

While you’re at it, show her the absenteeism rates and the proficiency percentages so she can see how the DOE keeps kids in class and engaged.

Then, totally ignoring the facts, she said this:

“While our young people are mandated to follow school rules – including the Discipline Code – we are working towards addressing any issues in a positive, supportive, and less punitive manner. This strategy is working – suspensions and chronic absenteeism are down, and our students are safe, supported, and engaged.”

WOW, the NYC school system has a spokesperson who is totally out to lunch, denying facts, openly lying, and punishing the victims instead of the aggressors. This system is based on a fallacy that exists only in the heads of leftists and socialists who want to undermine Western Culture and its values.

What’s next, electing an openly socialist mayor?

Never mind.