Senate in Texas, once framed disciplinary practices in schools as an outflow of the ideas behind criminal justice reforms he hoped lawmakers would implement in Texas. "I’m recently excited about the formation of a bipartisan criminal justice reform caucus in the Texas House with prominent Democrats and prominent Republicans who understand that we have to move away from a tough-on-crime approach to a smart-on-crime approach, and that, I think, filters down to our schools," Talarico said in a 2020 interview on school disciplinary practices and their effect on minorities. Talarico’s train of thought from criminal reform laws to changes in educational discipline demonstrates his underlying beliefs about moving away from punitive corrections.
SOROS NETWORK REBUILDS PROGRESSIVE PROSECUTOR PUSH AFTER STRING OF ELECTION LOSSES Talarico fleshed out his view, detailing how the changes would affect the educational system. "[We are] starting in elementary school, where we really pursue restorative practices that are going to rehabilitate our students who are suffering from trauma, our students who are feeling unsafe in school and our students who harm a classroom community." Talarico was referring to "restorative justice," a view that links misbehavior to past personal and emotional experiences. In the words of Texas Appleseed, a group that promotes "social, economic and racial justice," restorative justice in education emphasizes the relational cost of conflict as a way to deter future bad behavior.
"Restorative Justice, when applied to a school setting, focuses on how student behavior has harmed others and how to make amends. Schools use it to build community and strengthen student–school connections," the group wrote in a definition submitted to lawmakers. The approach is often mentioned as an alternative to "zero tolerance" policies that focus on punishments that deter discouraged conduct.
To Talarico, its adoption could deemphasize other forms of punishments. "What that means is really allowing students to repair the harms that they’ve caused in a classroom community. It's a lot more rigorous and a lot more effective than just expelling a student or suspending a student or removing them from a classroom community," Talarico said.
While in the Texas legislature in 2021, Talarico introduced a bill, HB 62, which would have sought to move schools away from in-school suspension, out-of-school suspension and removing kids to alternative educational programs. The bill stalled in committee and never became law. NORTH CAROLINA TEACHER'S KILLING REIGNITES SCRUTINY OF ROY COOPER'S CRIMINAL JUSTICE RECORD IN SENATE RACE In the wake of the Uvalde school shooting in 2022, Republican lawmakers pushed back against Talarico’s line of reasoning, arguing that, despite some calls for leniency, repercussions for problematic behavior are sometimes unavoidable.
"Look, I don't want to see a kid go to jail for being caught with some pot. I don't want to see a kid go to jail because he gets into a fight with another kid," Texas state Rep. Steve Toth, a Republican, told interviewers.
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