Danbury policy committee endorses first read of restorative-practices response policy

The Danbury Board of Education Policy Committee voted to recommend a first reading of proposed policy 5114.12, the Restorative Practices Response Policy, which the committee was told state statute requires the district to have in place by July 1.

The policy would replace the district's current bullying policy, 5131.911, and establish a districtwide approach intended to prioritize restorative interventions, train administrators and staff, and develop building-level teams to manage restorative responses.

Kelly (staff member) told the committee, "By state statute, we are required to have a restorative practices and response policy in place by July 1 of this year," and described a rollout that begins with training for the administrative leadership team and continues with turnkey staff training in the fall. Kelly said the district has contracted with EdAdvance to support summer training for administrators and to align building-level plans.

Committee members pressed for specifics about who will carry out restorative processes and what the personnel and budget implications will be. Juanita (policy committee member) said, "We have another state mandate that is not funded," and asked whether responsibilities would fall to principals, assistant principals, counselors, social workers or others. Kelly replied that the initial training will be for building leadership teams and that the school climate coordinator for each building will likely be the principal or an assistant principal, with the aim of developing broader teams over time.

Members asked for a clear timetable and for public posting of who will serve as each building's safe school climate coordinator. Kelly said the regulations will be developed over the coming year, will be shared with the board before implementation, and that the committee would be invited to periodic check-ins during rollout.

The committee also debated the effect of replacing the prior bullying-focused policy. Kate (committee chair) noted the earlier policy explicitly defined bullying behaviors; Kelly said the restorative approach focuses on the causes of behavior and supports for both students who cause harm and those who are harmed. Kelly added, "We could always add back in any investigatory language, either through a policy or through regulations if we felt that the removal of the bullying policy put us in a position where we needed to have some language in policy for that."

The committee approved a motion to recommend the new policy for first reading by the full board; the motion carried.

The committee directed staff to move forward with the planned training partnership with EdAdvance, to develop regulations over the next school year, and to provide periodic updates to the policy committee as implementation proceeds.