Division: Student Services 

Office:  Student Support Services

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Restorative Justice in Education NGO FAQs

Purpose: 

It is the intent of the Restorative Justice in Education grant program to implement trauma-informed restorative justice practices in public schools. “Restorative justice,” as defined in the legislation, means a system of dispute resolution tools that allow all parties of a dispute to be involved in defining the harm and devising remedies while giving the necessary attention to community safety, victims’ needs, and the need for offender accountability. Restorative justice practices shall include, but need not be limited to, student or community court, restorative circles, mediation, and conferencing. A “trauma-informed approach”, as defined in the legislation, means an approach that recognizes the signs and symptoms of trauma in students, families, staff, and others, and which responds by fully integrating knowledge about trauma into policies, procedures, and practices for the purposes of promoting resiliency and healing, resisting the recurrence of trauma, and improving educational outcomes.

The three-year pilot program will include fifteen New Jersey school districts equally representative of the southern, central, and northern regions of the state selected by the Commissioner of Education (Commissioner) through a separate application process. This grant opportunity is designed to designate one entity that will provide content development, training, and technical assistance to increase the NJDOE’s capacity to support the three-year pilot program and implementation of restorative practices beyond the pilot project.

Applicants may apply for up to $500,000 in Year 1.

Based on the availability of FY21 state appropriated funds, this first year of this three- year grant program will begin May 1, 2021 and will end on March 31, 2022.

Eligible Agencies: NJ public or private agencies, non-profit organizations, and institutions of higher education