Over the past decade, NYC public schools have enacted policies to reduce suspension rates and have invested in the implementation of Restorative Justice, PBIS, and SEL. Despite reducing suspension rates overall, Black students and students with special needs are still more likely to be suspended in our schools today. Suspension and expulsion have been linked to a number of negative outcomes including dropout, lower test scores, and incarceration. Through learning and discussion, this session will explore how anti-Black racism in particular manifests in school discipline policy and practice preventing anti-racist and transformational change. Participants will walk away with a better understanding of the contributors to discipline disparities why reform often falls short of its equity goals. Promising practices are shared and grounded in a racial equity-oriented approach to restorative and healing justice in education.