Restorative Practices in Racialized Student–Teacher Conflict: The Role of School Counselors

ABSTRACT

Student–teacher conflict is a common feature of K‐12 schooling, frequently addressed through exclusionary disciplinary practices that prioritize compliance over relational repair and disproportionately affect Black students. Restorative practices offer an alternative framework focused on accountability, dialogue, and harm repair, but implementation often lacks explicit attention to racialized power dynamics and affective processes that shape conflict escalation. This article advances a conceptual framework positioning counselors as facilitators of racially conscious restorative dialogue through a counseling lens, affect psychology, and restorative practice principles. Drawing on the Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies and the ASCA National Model, the authors conceptualized counselor‐led restorative dialogue as a structured clinical intervention involving preparation, facilitated dialogue, and follow‐up. A case illustration of a racially charged student–teacher conflict demonstrates the practical application of this framework. Implications are discussed for practice, training, professional development, and policy aimed at reducing disciplinary inequities and strengthening relational trust in schools.