A Justice System of Their Own

Members of a student-run court handle minor discipline disturbances

By Fronda Yancy

I teach seventh grade social studies at Lassiter Middle School in Louisville, Kentucky. Lassiter serves approximately 874 students in grades six through eight. It is part of the Jefferson County Public School System, which is the seventeenth largest school district in the United States.

Our learning team, Pacesetters: The Next Generation, is composed of five teachers, Patricia Noe (math teacher and team leader), Sarah Rudolph and June Lee (reading and writing teachers), Juli Koch (science teacher), and me. We have approximately 150 seventh grade students on our team. They are grouped heterogeneously into five classes.

Out of frustration comes inspiration

I had always considered Lassiter a great place to work, but a few years ago, I became more and more frustrated over the amount of instructional time I lost dealing with petty classroom disturbances. Because I was very interested in law, I decided to establish a student court that would handle these minor problems. I used both trial and error and student suggestions to set up this peer-group judicial system, which basically emulates the American system of justice. I called it the Review Board, and it has been effective to this day.

Review Board training

To pique interest in this peer-driven justice system, I teach a beginning law class that covers legal terms, arrest and courtroom procedures, and students' basic constitutional rights. Although the class is helpful to students who become members of the Review Board, attendance is not a prerequisite. Any student who meets the following criteria can apply to serve on the Review Board:

• submission of a letter explaining the student's reasons for wanting to be a member
• a good attendance record
• passing grades

The size of the Review Board's meeting room dictates that no more than 40 students can serve on the board, so from a large pool of applicants, I select eight students from each homeroom to be board members. During this selection process, I make an effort to strike an appropriate racial and gender balance.

I should point out that not all students selected for the Review Board have A averages and perfect conduct. Quite the contrary, some members are known to have occasional problems with grades and behavior. Being a Review Board member has improved the conduct of such board members because they know if they are referred to the Review Board for misconduct, they face a double penalty.

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