Keeping Kids in School and Out of Court

Last New Year’s Day, when 13-year-old Lee Weathersby III was shot and died in Oakland, Calif., nearly 200 of his middle school peers and teachers received therapy. In the Oakland Unified School District, Sandra Simmons’ job is to help coordinate that therapy on school campuses.

Some Vallejo, Calif., high school students are racking up a steady stream of court appearances, but in this case they are not getting into trouble—they’re acting as court officials who determine consequences for their peers.

Amidst mounting criticism of its disciplinary practices in recent years, Los Angeles Unified School District began shifting away from citations and suspensions and toward practices that emphasize keeping students in the classroom in 2012.