Restorative Practices in School Discipline:
Eliminating Willful Defiance
Origin: California State Legislature
Bill Name/Number: AB-420
Link: Click here
YEO Sponsor: Assemblyman Luis Alejo
Summary: Passed in the fall of 2014, this act eliminates the authority to suspend a pupil enrolled in kindergarten or
any of the grades 1-3, inclusive, and the authority to recommend for expulsion a student enrolled in kindergarten or
any grades 1-12, inclusive, for disrupting school activities or ot herwise willfully defying school personnel.
Talking Points & Important Information:
• Because “willful defiance” is a vague and highly subjective category in many school discipline codes, students
can get suspended from school for minor misbehaviors like talking back to a teacher. The harsh enforcement
of these policies alienates students from the classroom, removes them from valuable instructional time, and
increases the likelihood that they fall behind on coursework and drop out. In fact, nationally students of color
and students with disabilities are disproportionately affected by harsh discipline policies.
• According to our partners at the ACLU, willful defiance accounts for 43 percent of suspensions issued to
California students. It is the suspension offense category with the most significant racial disparities. For
the next 3.5 years, the law eliminates in-school and out-of-school suspensions for children in grades K-3 for
disruptive behavior currently captured in Education Code section 48900(k) and bans all expulsions K-12 for this
reason, unless otherwise addressed by AB-420.
• But the elimination of willful defiance as a qualifier for punitive disciplinary measures is not enough. Schools
also need to implement restorative practices along with positive behavior intervention and support. For more
information on the raft of positive interventions and disciplinary alternatives, see this brief from ACLU.
2015 POLICY BOOK
STATE
LEVEL
PAGE 32