HARRISBURG – Delaware County Sen. Tim Kearney and Sen. John Kane of Chester & Delaware Counties plan to introduce legislation to establish a pilot program for school-based youth courts. Schools would receive support to implement youth courts through the School-Based Youth Court Pilot Program. Youth courts are peer-led programs for minor offenses, providing an alternative to traditional disciplinary systems. Youth courts promote positive peer accountability, improve student-teacher relationships and school climate, and provide civic engagement, public speaking, conflict resolution, and leadership skills. They emphasize accountability and leverage restorative justice to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline. A number of school youth courts already operate in PA and other states. The lawmakers are circulating a co-sponsorship memo seeking support for their proposal.
SEN. JOHN KANE
SEN. TIM KEARNEY