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Bus Services around cornwall

We operate a number of bus routes throughout Cornwall on behalf of Transport for Cornwall. The timetables for all Transport for Cornwall services are available via the link below so you can download and print your own copies.

The Transport for Cornwall network has a range of tickets with great value fares.

As well as cash we can now take contactless payments on board, and we accept ENCTS cards on most routes.

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Newquay Airport Taxis, Buses & Minibuses in Cornwall

A comprehensive timetable covering Cornwall’s bus services was published in mid March 2024 to take effect from Sunday 31 March 2024. The complete timetable can be downloaded here: Cornwall Bus Timetable 31 March 2024 . Note that the composite timetable does not include the services run by First specifically for Truro and Penwith College, nor the GoCornwall services to Callywith College, although the general public can catch these services if they wish. First and Go Cornwall Bus have, in previous years, published specific timetable books for these services, but seem to have ceased doing so this year. I have extracted from the composite guide the timetables for individual services that passengers may find more convenient to download than wading through the whole book that has over 100 pages. I have also included links to the individual timetables for the 2023/24 routes to Truro and Penwith Colleges and to Callywith College. See listing below. For residents of the Rame peninsula who catch the Cremyll Ferry to Plymouth, I have included the ferry timetable and the timetable for Plymouth Citybus 34 that serves Stonehouse where the Cremyll Ferry lands and the Devonport drop off point from the Torpoint ferry. There is also a useful mini-timetable booklet produced by Go Cornwall Bus called Tamar Connections that includes those GCB services that cross the Tamar between Plymouth and South East Cornwall (nos. 10, 11, 12, 70, 71, 75), plus Plymouth Citybus no. 34. Some of the changes from the previous timetables include: The service between St Ives and Truro currently numbered T2 runs as a half-hourly service daytime Monday to Saturday. This frequency will continue but alternate half-hours will be numbered T2 and T3. The T2 will run through Truro to St Austell, replacing the current 27 service; what will in future be branded as the T3 will run through Truro to Newquay, replacing the current 91 service. The evening and Sunday and bank holiday services on the 27 route will continue to be provided by Go Cornwall Bus under the number 27E. I have compiled a combined T2/27E timetable to cover all the services on the Truro-St Austell corridor. In the west, the winter no. 7 service will be withdrawn as the circular Lands End Coaster route will restart covering this route. The 18/Tin Coaster and 19 Madron services will be incorporated into a revised 17/17A/17E timetable. The 24 service operated by First between Fowey and Mevagissey will be split at St Austell with Fowey to St Austell covered by a revised 24 timetable, and St Austell to Mevagissey by a new 29 timetable; the 24 services operated by GCB will continue to operate over the whole route Fowey to Mevagissey with a revised timetable.

South East Cornwall and Plymouth

2, 2A Saltash, Plymouth 10 Plymouth, Looe, Polperro 11 Plymouth, Bodmin, Wadebridge, Padstow 12, 12A Plymouth, Launceston, Bude 70, 70A, 70B Plymouth, Torpoint, Cremyll 71 Derriford, Saltash 73, 73A Liskeard, Looe, Polperro 74 Callington, Liskeard 75 Torpoint, Liskeard 77 Liskeard, Dobwalls, Polperro 78, 78A Liskeard, Launceston 79, 79A Callington, Tavistock 481, 482 Polruan, Looe, Bodmin 450, 451, 452, 454 Saltash, Liskeard area Cremyll Ferry summer timetable Plymouth Citybus 34 timetable Tamar Connections

Mid Cornwall

T1 Penzance, Camborne, Truro T2 St Ives, Camborne, Truro, St Austell T3 St Ives, Camborne, Truro, Newquay U1, U1A, U1E (Coast to Coast) Falmouth, Truro, Newquay U2 (Copper) Falmouth, Redruth U3 Penryn campus, Falmouth U4 Falmouth, Penzance 21 Newquay, St Austell 22 Truro, Clay country, St Austell 23, 24, 24E, 24X, 29 Fowey, St Austell, Mevagissey, Gorran 25 Fowey, St Austell, Newquay 26 St Austell, Bodmin T2, 27E St Ives, Camborne, Truro, St Austell 28, 31, 428 St Austell, Eden Project, Lostwithiel, Luxulyan 30 St Austell town service 34 Redruth, The Lizard 35, 35A, 63 Falmouth, Helston, Helford Passage 36, 36A, 36S Truro, Penryn, St Keverne, Redruth 40, 40A Truro, Redruth 42 Falmouth, Camborne 46 Camborne, Illogan 48, 49 Troon, Camborne, Barncoose, Truro 50 Truro, Tregony, St Mawes 51 St Austell, Tregony, Veryan 56 Newquay, Padstow 58, 59 Newquay town service, RAF St Mawgan 60, 63, 64, 65 Falmouth town service, Helford Passage 66, 466 Penryn, Truro 67 Falmouth coaster 69, 69A Falmouth, Mylor Bridge, Tremough 84, 484, 485, 494, 495, 496 Truro town services 85 Newquay, Truro 88 Redruth, Newquay 90 Wadebridge, Truro 91 Truro, Newquay (Sunday) T3 St Ives, Camborne, Truro, Newquay 92, 92S Wadebridge, Newquay 93, 94 Truro, Newquay 96, 96A Wadebridge, Bodmin 304 Porthtowan, Truro 315 Redruth, St Agnes 405 Pedna Carne, Bodmin 423 Summercourt, Gorran Haven 481, 482 Polruan, Looe, Bodmin 493 Truro, Feock 497 Summercourt, Truro 499 Summercourt, Tregony G1, G3, G4 Gorran Bus

West Cornwall

T1 Penzance, Camborne, Truro T2 St Ives, Camborne, Truro, St Austell T3 St Ives, Camborne, Truro, Newquay T2A St Ives, Gwithian U4 Falmouth, Penzance 5, 5A Penzance, Paul The Mousehole + Cat 8 Long Rock, St Just 15 Hayle, Penzance 16, 16A Rosehill Gardens, Penzance, St Ives 17, 17A, 17E Penzance, Madron, St Ives 33 St Keverne, Helston 34 Redruth, The Lizard 35, 35A, 63 Falmouth, Helston, Helford Passage 36, 36A, 36S Truro, Penryn, St Keverne, Redruth 37, 37A Helston town service 38 Camborne, Helston 39, 39A Camborne, Helston, Penzance 42 Falmouth, Camborne 46 Camborne, Illogan 48, 49 Troon, Camborne, Barncoose, Truro Lands End Coaster

North Cornwall

6 Bude, Okehampton 11 Plymouth, Bodmin, Wadebridge, Padstow 12, 12A Plymouth, Launceston, Bude 56 Newquay, Padstow 78, 78A Liskeard, Launceston 85 Barnstaple, Launceston, Tavistock 90 Wadebridge, Truro 92, 92S Wadebridge, Newquay 95 Bude, Wadebridge 96, 96A Wadebridge, Bodmin 97, 97S Launceston, Camelford 114, 115, 117, 119 Tavistock country buses 128, 218, 219 Bude, Marhamchurch, Poughill, Hartland 306 Launceston, Okehampton 217 Holsworthy, Gooseham 220 Crackington Haven, Launceston 223 Launceston town service 319 Hartland, Barnstaple 371, 372, 373 Warbstow Cross, Bude, Holsw’y, Launc’n 425, 426 Launceston, Altarnun, Terrace Atlantic Coaster, Newquay, Padstow

Truro College

100, 200, 300 Penzance Hayle St Ives Truro College 220 St Dennis Truro College 271 Callington Truro College 272 Looe Truro College 273 Fowey Truro College 274 Mevagissey Truro College 400 Portreath Truro College 470 Redruth Truro College 500 St Mawes Truro College 660 Constantine Truro College 850 Newquay Truro College 890 Launceston Truro College 900 Wadebridge Truro College 950 Boscastle Truro College L1 Lizard Truro College L2 Coverack Truro College

Penwith College

160 St Ives Penwith College 390 Camborne Penwith College

Callywith College

172 Torpoint Callywith College 174 Callington Callywith College 176 Launceston Callywith College 177 Holsworthy Callywith College 178 Launceston Callywith College 179 Tavistock Callywith College 180 Kilkhampton Callywith College 181 Crackington Haven Callywith College 182 Delabole Callywith College 185 Newquay Callywith College 187 Fowey Callywith College 188 St Austell Callywith College 189 Biscovey Callywith College 190 Mevagissey Callywith College

There are a few timetables that look a little odd, in particular the services operated by Travel Cornwall numbers 423, 497 and 499. These operate between Summercourt and Gorran Haven, Truro and Tregony respectively. They are used by the operator to position buses either to or from those locations prior to, or after completing schedules in those areas, or school transport in those areas. For example, the first 51 of the day to Veryan departs from Tregony at 06:45. In order to position that bus in Tregony, a bus runs as the 499 from Summercourt to Tregony. The last 51 service  of the day finishes at Veryan at 18:42. It then becomes the 499, leaving Veryan at 18:43 to return to the depot at Summercourt via Tregony at 19:02 then runs along the Probus bypass to Tresillian then via Ladock and Brighton Cross.

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NASA Picks 3 Companies to Help Astronauts Drive Around the Moon

The agency’s future moon buggies will reach speeds of 9.3 miles per hour and will be capable of self-driving.

By Kenneth Chang

NASA will be renting some cool wheels to drive around the moon.

Space agency officials announced on Wednesday that they have hired three companies to come up with preliminary designs for vehicles to take NASA astronauts around the lunar south polar region in the coming years. After the astronauts return to Earth, these vehicles would be able to self-drive around as robotic explorers, similar to NASA’s rovers on Mars.

The self-driving capability would also allow the vehicle to meet the next astronaut mission at a different location.

“Where it will go, there are no roads,” Jacob Bleacher, the chief exploration scientist at NASA, said at a news conference on Wednesday. “Its mobility will fundamentally change our view of the moon.”

The companies are Intuitive Machines of Houston, which in February successfully landed a robotic spacecraft on the moon ; Lunar Outpost of Golden, Colo.; and Venturi Astrolab of Hawthorne, Calif. Only one of the three will actually build a vehicle for NASA and send it to the moon.

NASA had asked for proposals of what it called the lunar terrain vehicle, or L.T.V., that could drive at speeds up to 9.3 miles per hour, travel a dozen miles on a single charge and allow astronauts to drive around for eight hours.

The agency will work with the three companies for a year to further develop their designs. Then NASA will choose one of them for the demonstration phase.

The L.T.V. will not be ready in time for the astronauts of Artemis III, the first landing in NASA’s return-to-the-moon program , which is currently scheduled for 2026 .

The plan is for the L.T.V. to be on the lunar surface ahead of Artemis V, the third astronaut landing that is expected in 2030, said Lara Kearney, manager of the extravehicular activity and human surface mobility program at the NASA Johnson Space Center.

“If they can get there earlier, we’ll take it earlier,” Ms. Kearney said.

The L.T.V. contract will be worth up to $4.6 billion over the next 15 years — five years of development and then a decade of operations on the moon, most of it going to the winner of this competition. But Ms. Kearney said the contracts allow NASA to later finance the development of additional rovers, or allow other companies to compete in the future.

The contract follows NASA’s recent strategy of purchasing services rather than hardware.

In the past, NASA paid aerospace companies to build vehicles that it then owned and operated. That included the Saturn V rocket, the space shuttles and the lunar roving vehicles — popularly known as moon buggies — that astronauts drove on the moon during the last three Apollo missions in 1971 and 1972.

The new approach has proved successful and less expensive for the transportation of cargo and astronauts to the International Space Station. NASA now pays companies, notably Elon Musk’s SpaceX, fixed fees for those services, more akin to plane tickets or FedEx shipments.

For the company chosen to build the L.T.V., the vehicle will remain its property, and that company will be able to rent it to other customers when it is not needed by NASA.

“It’s commercially available for us as a commercial business to sell capacity on that rover,” said Steve Altemus, the chief executive of Intuitive Machines, “and do that for international partners and for other commercial companies and space agencies around the world.”

The competition created alliances between small startups and larger, more established aerospace companies, as well as car companies. The Intuitive Machines team includes Boeing, Northrop Grumman and Michelin, the tire maker. Lunar Outpost added to its team Lockheed Martin, Goodyear and General Motors, which had helped design the Apollo moon buggies.

Astrolab is working with Axiom Space of Houston, which has sent private astronauts to the space station and is building a commercial module to the International Space Station. Astrolab announced last year that it had signed an agreement to send one of its rovers to the moon on a SpaceX Starship rocket as early as 2026. That mission is independent of whether it is selected by NASA, a company spokesman said.

While Lunar Outpost is competing with Intuitive Machines on this contract, it plans to work with the company separately, sending smaller robotic rovers to the moon on the company’s lunar landers.

Kenneth Chang , a science reporter at The Times, covers NASA and the solar system, and research closer to Earth. More about Kenneth Chang

What’s Up in Space and Astronomy

Keep track of things going on in our solar system and all around the universe..

Never miss an eclipse, a meteor shower, a rocket launch or any other 2024 event  that’s out of this world with  our space and astronomy calendar .

A new set of computer simulations, which take into account the effects of stars moving past our solar system, has effectively made it harder to predict Earth’s future and reconstruct its past.

Dante Lauretta, the planetary scientist who led the OSIRIS-REx mission to retrieve a handful of space dust , discusses his next final frontier.

A nova named T Coronae Borealis lit up the night about 80 years ago. Astronomers say it’s expected to put on another show  in the coming months.

Voyager 1, the 46-year-old first craft in interstellar space which flew by Jupiter and Saturn in its youth, may have gone dark .

Is Pluto a planet? And what is a planet, anyway? Test your knowledge here .

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Solar eclipse 2024: Follow the path of totality

Thinking of taking a last-minute drive to see the eclipse here's what to know.

Geoff Brumfiel

RV traffic sits at a standstill along a two-lane road near Madras, Ore., a few days before the 2017 total solar eclipse. Experts say traffic could be heavy, but eclipse watchers shouldn't necessarily be deterred. AFP Contributor/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

RV traffic sits at a standstill along a two-lane road near Madras, Ore., a few days before the 2017 total solar eclipse. Experts say traffic could be heavy, but eclipse watchers shouldn't necessarily be deterred.

NASA says that roughly 31.6 million people live in the path of this year's total solar eclipse, and a little under half of the U.S. population lives within 200 miles driving distance of the path of totality .

That could mean many millions of Americans will hit the road to get a better view on April 8. If you're still pondering whether or not you want to make the journey, here's what to consider.

Have some destinations in mind, and check the weather and cloud cover forecasts in advance

It's a good idea to scout out one or more locations within driving distance, so that you have some flexibility if traffic or weather is threatening your plans, says Jonathan Upchurch, a professor emeritus of civil engineering at Arizona State University who has studied travel around solar eclipses.

There are several interactive tools that show the path of totality, including Eclipse2024.org and the National Solar Observatory . You can use them to figure out what sites might work best for you.

In terms of weather, check not just the weather forecast, but also the cloud cover forecast. Some websites, such as Windy.com will predict cloud cover ahead of time, giving you a sense of whether you'll actually be able to see the eclipse in all its glory.

Everything you need to know about solar eclipse glasses before April 8

During the total solar eclipse in 2017, Upchurch says he chose to go to Idaho "because there were some great chances of having sunny skies, and I had the opportunity to be nimble and relocate if I wanted to."

Before driving into the path of totality, make sure your gas tank is full and that you've got everything you need

During the last total solar eclipse in 2017, it's estimated some 5 million people took to the roads, and those numbers will potentially be much higher this year.

Given all that, Upchurch says it's important to make sure you're taking what you need into the path of totality. You should make sure your car is gassed or charged up, and that you have plenty of snacks and water with you in case you get stranded for a while, especially when trying to leave.

Solar Eclipse 2024: Totality stretches from Texas to Maine

Simple tips to safely photograph the eclipse with your cellphone.

Also don't forget to bring eclipse glasses, which must be worn anytime you're looking at the sun, except for the few minutes when it is completely blocked by the moon.

Some state emergency planners also recommend bringing a paper map or road atlas in case cellular networks become overloaded with visitors seeking directions from their phones.

Don't forget your eclipse glasses everyone! Erika Goldring/FilmMagic hide caption

Don't forget your eclipse glasses everyone!

Arrive early and stay late

Once you figure out where you're going to watch the eclipse, and you've got your supplies, try to get there early. Although traffic is likely to be heavier than normal on the morning of eclipse day, it still should be possible to reach many destinations without too much hassle, says Upchurch.

"Leaving is definitely going to be more of a problem," he says. As the eclipse concludes, people will take to the roads all at once to try and get home as fast as they can. In 2017, that led to traffic jams that lasted many hours in some areas. If possible, Upchurch says, people should stay put for a while to try and avoid the worst of the post-eclipse rush, which in 2017 stretched even into the following day in some parts of the country.

Here's what time the eclipse will be visible in your region

And one more thing: If you do find yourself on the move near the time of the eclipse, state officials stress that you should not simply pull over to the side of the road or highway you're driving on. It's important to be parked legally and safely at the moment of totality.

If you're already in the path of totality: Relax and enjoy!

Several major metropolitan areas including Dallas, Indianapolis, Cleveland and Buffalo are already inside the path of totality, so there's no need to seek a better view, Upchurch says. You'll probably have the most fun simply staying where you are.

Shots - Health News

Watching a solar eclipse without the right filters can cause eye damage. here's why.

If you're on the edge of the path of totality, however, you might consider making a short trip to get closer to the center of the eclipse's path.

"If you're within about 40 miles of the center line, you'll have two-and-a-half minutes or more" of complete totality, Upchurch says. It's up to you to decide whether it's worth making the trip to a more central location.

Despite studying the potential hassles of traveling extensively, Upchurch says he's still looking forward to seeing the 2024 eclipse, which he plans to watch from Texas.

"Totality is absolutely spectacular," he says. "If you have a chance to witness it, I would do it."

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Live: Storm Kathleen to batter Cornwall this weekend with 'danger to life' warning issued

Batten down the hatches!

• Updated 11:50, 5 APR 2024

A yellow warning for strong winds has been issued for the whole of Cornwall as Storm Kathleen bears down on the UK.

Exeter-based Met Office has issued the warning for all west coast areas in the UK from Cornwall to Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland.

Saturday should be when Storm Kathleen makes landfall and hits our coastline with winds speeds of up to 30mph and gusts of 50mph to 70mph. The yellow warning for strong winds will be in place 8am until 10pm tomorrow (Saturday April 6).

We will keep you updated in the blog below.

Most at risk vehicles

According to National Highways here are the most vulnerable vehicles during storms:

Certain types of vehicles are more prone to the effects of high winds.

• Transit vans with modifications
• Vehicles towing trailers or caravans,
• Motorcycles
• Double decker buses
• Articulated HGVs
• Abnormal loads
• Car transporters
• High-sided rigid HGVs

A spokesperson for National Highways said: "If your vehicle is susceptible to high-wind conditions, consider delaying your journey until weather conditions improve if you can."

National Highways provides live traffic information via its website – www.nationalhighways.co.uk/traffic , local and national radio travel bulletins, electronic road signs and mobile apps.

‘Be prepared’ warning to motorists ahead of Storm Kathleen

Motorists have been advised to take care on the roads when Storm Kathleen makes landfall in the Westcountry tomorrow. National Highways has issued the advice following yellow Met Office weather warnings for the north west and south west of England from 8am to 10pm tomorrow.

National Highways said in high winds, there’s a particular risk to lorries, caravans and motorbikes, so drivers should slow down and avoid using exposed sections of road if possible.

Dale Hipkiss, national network manager at National Highways, said: “With the arrival of Storm Kathleen it is important to plan ahead for your journey, and if weather conditions become challenging, adjust your driving behaviour and take extra care."

He said motorists should top up their vehicle, rest every two hours, inspect their tyres and prepare for their journey ahead.

Mr Hipkiss added: "We constantly monitor wind speeds, particularly around bridges and exposed routes, and will always endeavour to keep them open as long as it is safe to do so. In the kind of conditions we are expecting this weekend, please check the route your route before setting off." Or by visiting: www.nationalhighways.co.uk/traffic

National Highways uses roadside signs to warn you of possible high winds or side winds. These are displayed on electronic or fixed roadside signs.

Some locations have windsocks located on the roadside. These show you the direction and severity of the wind.

National Highways also monitor the network for debris and have specialist equipment and contractors on standby to remove it as quickly as possible. And sometimes during severe weather, for safety certain structures may need to be closed to some or all vehicles. Where possible, signed diversion routes will be in place.

Storm Kathleen to bring travel chaos

With the Easter school holidays continuing, people might be travelling or away over the weekend and so there is a higher sensitivity to strong winds.

There are likely to be delays or cancellations on ferries, bridge restrictions, and general disruption on the roads.

The Met Office suggests to prepare for longer journey times and a there is a slight chance of power cuts.

There might be restrictions on the Tamar Bridge while some roads could also be flooded. Some train services could also be affected.

St Mawes passenger ferry to Falmouth has already announced it will not run due to high winds.

11th named storm of the season

Storm Kathleen is the 11th named storm of the season which runs from September 1, 2023 until August 31, 2024.

It is also the first time storms have reached the letter K in the alphabet since Storm Katie in late March 2016.

Storm Jocelyn brought major disruption to the road network across Northern Ireland in January.

The Irish Met Office, Met Éireann, named Storm Kathleen after computer programming pioneer Kathleen 'Kay' McNulty from County Donegal and crystallographer Dame Kathleen Lonsdale from County Kildare.

What to expect when Storm Kathleen batters Cornwall

The Met Office has warned residents and businesses in coastal areas that some damage to buildings, such as tiles blown from roofs, could happen. Injuries and danger to life from flying debris are also possible.

The weather forecaster said that power cuts may also occur, with the potential to affect other services, such as mobile phone coverage.

A spokesperson for the Met Office added: "Injuries and danger to life could occur from large waves and beach material being thrown onto sea fronts, coastal roads and properties.

"Some roads and bridges may close. In addition road, rail, air and ferry services may be affected, with longer journey times and cancellations possible."

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One school district stopped suspending kids for minor misbehavior. Here’s what happened

As school districts search for ways to cope with the increase in student misbehavior following the pandemic, los angeles’ experience offers insight into whether banning some suspensions is effective..

LOS ANGELES – When Abram van der Fluit began teaching science more than two decades ago, he tried to ward off classroom disruption with the threat of suspension: “I had my consequences, and the third consequence was you get referred to the dean,” he recalled.

Suspending kids didn’t make them less defiant, he said, but getting them out of the school for a bit made his job easier. Now, suspensions for “willful defiance” are off the table at Maywood Academy High School, taking the bite out of van der Fluit’s threat. 

Mikey Valladares, a 12th grader there, said when he last got into an argument with a teacher, a campus aide brought him to the school’s restorative justice coordinator, who offered Valladares a bottle of water and then asked what had happened. “He doesn’t come in … like a persecuting way,” Valladares said. “He’d just console you about it.”

Being listened to and treated with empathy, Valladares said, “makes me feel better.” Better enough to put himself in his teacher’s shoes, consider what he could have done differently – and offer an apology.

This new way of responding to disrespectful behavior doesn’t always work, according to van der Fluit. But “overall,” he said, “it’s a good thing.”

When change began in Los Angeles schools

In 2013, the Los Angeles Unified School District banned suspensions for willfully defiant behavior, as part of a multi-year effort to move away from punitive discipline. The California legislature took note. Lawmakers argued that suspensions for relatively minor infractions, like talking back to a teacher, harmed kids, including by feeding the school-to-prison pipeline. Others noted that this ground for suspension was a subjective catch-all disproportionately applied to Black and Hispanic students.

A state law prohibiting willful defiance suspensions for grades K-3 went into effect in 2015; five years later, the ban was extended through eighth grade. Last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law adding high schoolers to the prohibition. It takes effect this July.

An investigation by The Hechinger Report found the national picture is quite different. Across the 20 states that collect data on the reasons why students are suspended or expelled, school districts cited willful defiance, insubordination, disorderly conduct and similar categories as a justification for suspending or expelling students more than 2.8 million times from 2017-18 to 2021-22. That amounted to nearly a third of all punishments reported by those states.

As school districts search for ways to cope with the increase in student misbehavior that followed the pandemic, the Los Angeles Unified School District’s experience offers insight into whether banning such suspensions is effective and under what conditions. In general, the district’s results have been positive: Data suggests that schools didn’t become less safe, more chaotic or less effective, as critics had warned.

From 2011-12 to 2021-22, as suspensions for willful defiance fell from 4,500 to near zero, suspensions across all categories fell too, to 1,633 – a more than 90% drop, according to state data. Those numbers, plus in-depth research on the ban, show that educators in the district didn’t simply find different justifications for suspending kids once willful defiance was off limits. Racial disparities in discipline remain, but they have been reduced.

Meanwhile, according to state survey data, students were less likely to report feeling unsafe in school. During the 2021-22 school year for example, 5% of LAUSD freshmen said they felt unsafe in school, compared with more than three times that nine years earlier. As for academics, state and federal data suggest that the district’s performance didn’t fall after the disciplinary shift, although the state switched tests over that decade, making precise comparison difficult.

“It really points out that we can do this differently, and do it better,” said Dan Losen, senior director for the education team at the National Center for Youth Law. 

Change took energy – and money

A pile of research demonstrates that losing class time negatively affects students. Suspensions are tied to lower grades, lower odds of graduating high school and a higher risk of being arrested or unemployed as an adult. Losen said this is in part because students who are suspended not only miss out on educational opportunities, but also lose access to the web of services many schools offer, including mental health treatment and meals.

That harm is less justifiable for minor transgressions, he added. And “what makes it even less justifiable is that there are alternative responses that work better and involve more adult interface for the student, not less.”

In part because of this research, Los Angeles, and then California, increasingly focused on disciplinary alternatives as they eliminated or narrowed the use of suspensions for willful defiance. 

LAUSD gradually scaled up its investment, rolling out training in 2015 for teachers and administrators in “restorative” practices like the ones Valladares described. Educators were also encouraged to implement an approach called positive behavioral interventions and supports . Together, these strategies seek to address the root causes of challenging behavior. That means both preventing it and, when some still inevitably occurs, responding in a way that strengthens the relationship between student and school rather than undermining it.

The district also created new positions, hiring school climate advocates to give campuses a warm, constructive tone, and "system of support advisors” to train current employees in the new way of doing discipline. From August to October 2023, support advisers offered 380 such sessions; since July 2021 alone, more than 23,000 district staff members and 2,400 parents have participated in restorative practices training, according to the district.

All that work has been expensive: The district budgeted more than $31 million for school climate advocates, $16 million for restorative justice teachers and nearly $9 million for the support advocates for this school year. Combined with spending on psychiatric social workers, mental health coordinators and campus aides, the district’s allocation for “school climate personnel” totaled more than $300 million this year.

That’s money other districts don’t have. And it’s part of what prompted the California School Boards Association to support the recent legislation only if it were amended to include more cash for alternative approaches to behavior management.

Resources for change can be scarce

Troy Flint, the association's chief communications officer, said administrators in many remote, rural districts in particular do not have the bandwidth, or the ability to hire consultants, to train staff on new methods. Their schools also often lack a space for disruptive students who have had to leave class but can’t be sent home, and lack the adults needed to supervise them, he said. “You often have situations in these districts where you have a superintendent or principal who's also a teacher, and maybe they drive a bus – they don't have the capacity to implement all these programs,” said Flint. 

The state’s 2023 budget allocated just $7 million, parceled out in grants of up to $100,000, for districts to implement restorative justice practices. If each got the full amount, only approximately 70 districts would receive funding – when there are more than a thousand districts in the state. Even then, the grants would give each district only a small fraction of what LAUSD has needed to make the shift.

Even in the Los Angeles district, the money only goes so far. The district of more than 1,000 schools employs nearly 120 restorative justice teachers, meaning only about a tenth of schools have one. Roughly a third of schools have a school climate advocate. Support advocates are stretched thin too, in some cases supporting as many as 25 schools each, and some budgeted advocate positions haven’t been filled. There’s also the continual threat of lost funding: In recent years, the district has been using federal pandemic funding, which ends soon, to pay for some of the work. “School sites are having to make hard choices,” said Tanya Ortiz Franklin, an LAUSD school board member.

And money hasn’t been the district’s only challenge. Success requires buy-in, and buy-in requires a change in educators’ mindsets. Back in 2013, van der Fluit recalls, his colleagues’ perspective on the ban on willful defiance suspensions was often: “What is this hippie-dippie baloney?” Teachers also questioned the motives of district leaders, wondering if they wanted to avoid suspending kids because school funding is tied to average daily attendance. 

Now, most days, van der Fluit sees things differently – but not always.

Last year, for example, when he asked a student who was late to get a tardy slip, she refused. She also refused when a campus aide, and then the restorative justice coordinator and then the principal, asked her to go to the school’s office. The situation was eventually resolved after her basketball coach arrived, but van der Fluit said it had been “a 20-minute thing, and I'm trying to teach in between all of this stuff.”

That sort of scene is rare at Maywood, van der Fluit said, but it happens. There are students “who just want to disrupt, and they know how to manipulate and control and are gaslighting and deflecting.” He described seeing a student with his phone out. When van der Fluit said, “You had your phone out,” the student denied it. Van der Fluit said there are days he feels “the district doesn’t have my back” under this new system. Researchers, legislators and school board members, he said, wear “rose-colored glasses.”

His concerns are not uncommon . But according to Losen, in LAUSD, “The main issue for teachers was that the teacher training was phased in while the policy change was not.”

Parent pushback also plays a role

In recent years there has been some parental pushback too: At a November 2023 meeting of the school district safety and climate committee , for example, a handful of parents described their kids’ schools as “out of control” and decried a “rampant lack of discipline.”

Ortiz Franklin acknowledged an uptick in behavioral incidents over the last three years, but attributed it to the pandemic and students’ isolation and loss, not the shift in disciplinary approach. Groups like Students Deserve, a youth-led, grassroots nonprofit, have urged LAUSD to hold the line on its positive, restorative approach.

“Our schools are not an uncontrollable, violent, off-the-wall place. They’re a place with kids who are dealing with an unprecedented level of trauma and need an unprecedented level of support,” said W. Joseph Williams, the group’s director.

District survey data presented at the same November meeting, meanwhile, suggests most teachers remain relatively committed to the policies: On a 1 to 4 scale, teachers rated their support for restorative practices at around a 3, on average, and principals rated it close to a 4.

Even van der Fluit, who maintains that the new way takes more work, said: “But is it the better thing for the student? For sure.”

At Maywood, Marcus Van, the restorative justice coordinator who met with Valladares after the teen argued with a teacher, said students have a chance to talk out their problems and grievances and resolve them. In contrast, Van said, “When you just suspend someone, you do not go through the process of reconciliation.”

Often, so-called defiant behavior is spurred by some larger issue, he said: “Maybe somebody has parents who are on drugs [or] abusive, maybe they have housing insecurity, maybe they have food insecurity, maybe they’re being bullied.” He added: “I think people want an easy fix for a complicated problem.”

Valladares, for his part, knows some people think suspensions breed school safety. But he said he feels safer – and behaves in a way that’s safer for others – when “I’m able to voice how I feel.”

Twelfth grader Yaretzy Ferreira said: “I feel like they actually hear us out, instead of just cutting us out.”

Her first year and a half at Maywood, she was “really hyper sassy,” according to Van. But, Ferreira recalled, that changed after Van invited her mom and a translator to a meeting: “He was like, ‘Your daughter did this, this, this, but we’re not here to get her in trouble. We’re here to help.’” Now, the only reason she ends up in Van’s office is for a water or a snack.

New approach benefits all students

Van der Fluit said the new approach is better for all kids, not just those with a history of defiance. For example, the class that watched the tardy slip interaction unfold saw adults model how to successfully manage frustration and de-escalate a situation. “That’s incredibly valuable,” he said, “more valuable than learning photosynthesis.”

The Maywood campus is calmer than it used to be, educators at the school say. Students, for the most part, no longer roam the halls during class time. There’s less profanity, said history teacher Michael Melendez. Things are going “just fine” without willful defiance suspensions, he said.

Nationally, researchers have come to a similar conclusion: A 2023 report from the Learning Policy Institute, based on data for about 2 million California students, concluded that exposure to restorative practices improved academic achievement, behavior and school safety. A 2023 study on restorative programs in Chicago Public Schools, conducted by the University of Chicago Education Lab, found positive changes in how students viewed their schools, their in-school safety and their sense of belonging.

In Los Angeles, many students say the hard work of transitioning to a new disciplinary approach is worth it.

“We’re still kids in a way. We are growing, but there’s still corrections to be made,” said Valladares. “And what’s the point in a school if there’s no corrections, just instant punishment?”

This story about positive behavioral interventions and supports PBIS was produced by USA TODAY publishing partner The Hechinger Report , a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education.