During the 2019 General Assembly, state legislators passed a broad education package that includes expansion of restorative practices statewide. In recent years, OSI has worked with Baltimore City Schools to pioneer implementation of restorative practices throughout the district, and 55 of the city’s 180 schools have already begun implementation or are scheduled to do so in the next academic year.
OSI grantees, including the ACLU of Maryland, Baltimore Algebra Project, and the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, worked to advocate for the new legislation, which includes a professional development program for teachers on “racial awareness, cultural competency, religious tolerance and restorative practices.”
Tomorrow, the University of Maryland Carey School of Law’s Center for Dispute Resolution will host representatives from schools districts throughout the state for the Maryland School Restorative Approaches Roundtable, where Karen Webber, director of OSI’s Education and Youth Development program, and OSI grantees, including representatives from the Positive Schools Center, will share information and resources about restorative approaches to positive school climate and discipline.
