Rethinking School Discipline: Keeping Students with Disabilities Connected to Learning

School discipline plays a big role in whether students stay in the classroom and are connected to learning. According to the Georgia Conflict Center (GCC), students with developmental disabilities (DD) are disciplined more often than their peers. And black students with disabilities face the highest discipline rates of all.

Too often, that discipline means students are removed from the classroom through suspension or expulsion. This is called exclusionary discipline. When students are pushed out of school, they lose valuable learning time. They can also lose relationships with teachers and classmates. Over time, this can affect their confidence, progress, and sense of belonging. It also increases the risk of being placed into the juvenile and criminal justice systems.

A project with GCC, called School-Based Exclusionary Discipline Awareness and Education, is working to change that by helping schools learn about restorative practices — a different way to respond to conflict. The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) provides funding for this project.

Restorative practices focus on conversation and repair instead of punishment. They are rooted in Indigenous traditions, including Māori, First Peoples, and African wisdom. The goal is not to ask, “What rule was broken and how do we punish?” Instead, the questions become: “What harm was done? What does the student need? How do we make it right?”

“It’s looking at ways to resolve conflict in equitable ways,” said Mikhayla Smith, a GCC team member who oversees the project. “Restorative practices speak to our humanity and involve storytelling, dialogue, and meeting the needs of people who cause and are affected by harm.”

In many schools, discipline follows a simple pattern: If you break a rule, you are punished. The decision is often made without the student’s input. There is little opportunity for the child to explain what happened or to repair the harm.

Restorative practices take a different approach. Students are expected to take responsibility for their actions. But they are also given the chance to make amends — to “right the wrong,” Smith explained.

This approach also asks adults to look deeper. Challenging behavior is often a sign that a student’s needs are not being met. Restorative practices encourage teachers and administrators to ask: What is the root cause? What support does this student need? How can we address the harm while keeping them connected to learning?

“You step back and see the child as a human with needs,” said Smith.

Elena Tothazan, another GCC team member, said school policies can sometimes make exclusion more likely. “When test scores are tied to public funding, we see a trend of schools pushing out students who aren’t performing well,” she said. Schools may feel pressure to protect their numbers instead of investing in students who need more support.

GCC’s campaign focuses on education and community engagement. The team gives presentations in schools and community spaces, talks with families, and connects them to helpful resources. Their outreach is especially focused on families of color. The campaign centers on a simple message: restorative education is inclusive.

This work is helping schools rethink how they respond to harm. Instead of pushing students out, restorative practices aim to keep them engaged in learning. They teach both children and adults how to take responsibility, repair relationships, and solve problems in healthy ways.

The message is clear: accountability and compassion can exist at the same time.

When schools choose restorative practices over exclusionary discipline, they move closer to a system where every child is seen, heard, and supported.

Follow along with the Georgia Conflict Center’s work on Instagram @gaconflict