Oxford School District has presentation promoting SEL and restorative justice

Parents Defending Education submitted a public records request to the Oxford School District requesting documents and emails regarding transgender and LGBTQ issues. PDE received a presentation back that appeared to be created by the district’s Student Services department. The first page of the presentation cites the Trevor Project, which is a known LGBTQ organization that targets children. The presentation also shows that the school district focuses on social emotional learning (SEL) and “Restorative Consequences/Discipline.”

The presentation states that the district will be working with the SEL organization Second Step. Second Step is an organization known for promoting political ideologies in its SEL curricula. Second Step states on its website that the organization is “committed to addressing racial injustice and helping you drive real change in your school communities.” The organization also provides resources for educators to implement equity into the classroom. Two of the resources that Second Step has offered are called “Talking to Kids About Racial Identity” and “Starting in the Classroom.”

The presentation also emphasizes “restorative practices.” The idea of restorative practices is to not actually punish students for wrongdoing or often to give students different punishment depending on their race and ethnicity. The presentation mentions this by specifically saying that restorative practices will “decrease disproportionality in discipline.”