Twenty-eight Draper-area high schoolers will decide how their peers answer for fighting, vandalism, shoplifting and vaping this school year after being sworn in as Canyons School District Peer Court judges.

Utah Supreme Court Associate Chief Justice Jill Pohlman administered the oath of office at a ceremony in the Canyons Board of Education chamber, the district announced Tuesday, Sept. 8. The student-judges, selected through an application process, have already begun hearing cases for the 2026-27 school year.

For families in the district, the Peer Court offers an alternative to suspension or expulsion for minor school-rule violations. Instead of removing a student from school, the program asks student-judges to question the offender, identify reasons behind the behavior and assign ways to repair the harm. The district says the approach reduces the risk that students drop out or enter the juvenile justice system.

Pohlman, a graduate of Alta High School, drew on her years on the Utah Court of Appeals, where she said she was often asked how she fairly examined difficult cases. She said she grew to understand the "varied experiences we all have."

"The most surprising thing was (hearing about) the difficulty of people's lives and challenges," Pohlman said. "The real growth I had was to feel differently about defendants. It didn't mean we wouldn't hold them accountable."

Student Engagement Program Administrator Charisse Hilton has overseen the Peer Court since it began hearing cases in the 2020-21 school year. She said some sessions are intense and open judges' eyes to the challenges students face. The 28 judges are expected to log about 2,000 volunteer hours over the school year, meeting weekly to hear cases.

The district says its Peer Court is one of two youth courts in Utah run by a school district. Canyons modeled the program after Ogden School District's peer court, according to a 2020 Cottonwood Heights Journal report. In its inaugural year, the court started with 23 students and heard 14 cases by mid-October 2020.

The Peer Court meets weekly in the board chamber. No upcoming application deadline or public meeting date has been announced.