Student board member proposes school courts

MICHAEL J. WILLIAMS
Staff Writer

VISTA ---- A 17-year-old high school student is proffering a new approach to a problem that has confounded adult authorities and experts for ages ---- adolescent misconduct.

Cody Campbell, a student representative to the Vista Unified School District Board of Trustees, is proposing the creation of youth courts that would serve as alternatives to the system of suspensions now in place at district schools.

The school-based, youth-court concept is in use around the nation as a method of diverting adolescent offenders away from the juvenile justice system and incarceration, said Cody, pointing to a study by the Washington, D.C.-based Urban Institute. The study was funded by the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Youth courts are set up much like traditional courts of law, except that they are operated by teens serving as attorneys, jurors and court functionaries. They are used to deal with lesser, nonviolent infractions and typically mete out punishments such as community service through voluntary agreements with the violators and their parents or guardians.

The institute's report, "The Impact of Teen Court on Youth Offenders," states that a study of four youth courts in Alaska, Arizona, Maryland and Missouri indicated that each had a low rate of repeat offenders. There are nearly 900 such courts operating throughout the nation.

"They've proven very effective in reducing the re-offense rate for juveniles," Cody said. "There's no real evaluation on how effective suspensions are. Most suspended students will commit an offense again and that's not very effective."

Cody is a junior at Palomar High School, the district's independent study program for freshmen through seniors. As a student advisory representative to the district board, he has been a more active participant in discussions among trustees than is typical among his peers. District officials have agreed to put his school-court proposal on a future board agenda, possibly on June 5.

In an interview last week, Cody said his interest in the youth courts arose from school board Trustee Stephen Guffanti's recent expression of concern that the district was resorting too frequently to expulsion as a method of responding to student violators.

This school year, 130 of the district's approximately 25,000 students have been expelled, a significant jump over last year when 89 students were kicked out, according to district statistics. In 2000-01, 117 students were expelled. In the 1999-2000 school year, 171 students were ejected.

Guffanti said he is interested in an alternative to kicking students out because the district loses money based on lower daily attendance, and the students often wind up on the streets, creating a nuisance to the community.

While expulsions often are required after repeated suspensions or major violations, Cody said he believes that student-run courts can help prevent peers from entering the cycle of repeated suspensions that could lead to expulsion.

"In other school districts, it's been very successful in curbing suspensions and recidivism rates, and it's really good at prevention as well," he said.

Guffanti said he is willing to consider the idea.

"Here's my criteria ---- how much does it cost and what kind of benefits are we going to get?" Guffanti said. "I'm more than willing to listen to Cody's presentation, and if those questions are answered so that it's a win-win for the children in the community, I'll support it."

Cody contends that youth courts would cost little and government grants should be available to help with funding.

While various models of youth courts are in use, Cody prefers one in which an adult would sit as judge. He intends to ask the district to set up pilot models at two schools to test the concept.

The school court would be used in cases where students are accused of minor infraction violations such as vandalism or disruptive conduct that typically could be punished with a suspension or some other penalty at the discretion of school authorities. The youth court would not be an option for serious offenses such as assault, weapon and drug possession, and gang activity that would typically involve automatic expulsion.

When a teen is alleged to have committed an infraction, the school administrators would have the alternative of placing the alleged perpetrator in the youth court, with the agreement of the student and his parents or guardian.

Punishments could be tailored to fit the crime, Cody said. For instance, a student guilty of tagging could be sentenced to paint over graffiti.

"The program would not be aimed directly at people who are going to be expelled, but as a prevention measure aimed at keeping the person from getting expelled in the first place," Cody said. "It's more of an option to keep students from crossing that line. It's better to stop the problem before it starts."

Contact staff writer Michael J. Williams at (760) 631-6621 or mwilliams@nctimes.com.

5/18/03

© 2006. Paid for and authorized by Cody Campbell for School Board 2006, FPPC ID# 1290192.