Youth Court

Mission

Our SBRYC Mission is to empower youth to repair harm in a non-punitive way and aid respondents to return to their school communities with a deeper sense of accountability and belonging.

Vision

SBRYC envisions a School District in which discipline is seen as effective when it centers relationships and learning and promotes individual as well as organizational accountability, in order to bring about transformational change.

The San Bernardino Restorative Youth Court (SBRYC)

Compassionately Offering a Unique Restorative process that leads to Transformation

Youth Court is an alternative approach to the traditional discipline system, where students who have violated education codes have the option to participate in Youth Court instead of suspension or expulsion. 

Youth court empowers students to rebuild their reputation, repair harm, and gain a better understanding of themselves and others.

The Process:

The court is facilitated by an adult judge and involves student respondents and volunteers in various judicial roles, but with a restorative focus.

Our judge volunteers are District staff members, District Attorneys, Public Defenders,  Probation Officers, Private Attorneys, and Law Enforcement officials.

The court is facilitated by an adult judge and driven by a youth panel, clerks, and bailiffs. The adult judge helps the Respondent reflect on the effects of the incident. The youth panel, acting as a Reflecting Team,  acknowledges preferred accounts of the Respondent's identity by putting their new story into circulation and acknowledging it.  

The panel then deliberates and makes suggestions for a Rehabilitative Success Plan to help address the needs of the impacted parties, the Respondent and the community overall.  The Respondent then meets with a Youth Court Case Carrier official to review the plan. The Case Carrier provides ongoing support to ensure the student can successfully reintegrate into their school community. 

Youth Court provides a variety of opportunities to all student participants. It gives them an opportunity to build empathy, community, and leadership skills, while providing learning opportunities.

Our students are volunteers from our 6-12th grade population and previous respondents.

For more information about Youth Courts in California, visit: www.calyouthcourts.com