Here we are in the first month of the new school year, and
as in years past, HOPE has received several phone calls from
parents concerned about their children receiving suspensions from
school. Many parents are worried that repeated
suspensions affect their child's education, and find themselves in
a very difficult position when required to take time off work to
stay home with their children during the suspension period.
Under the Ministry of Education's Safe Schools policy,
principals have a responsibility to ensure positive behaviour
through "progressive discipline". This means
moving away from a purely punitive approach in that the principal
must consider a range of options in dealing with the inappropriate
behaviour, which can include meeting with parents, detentions, or
anger management intervention. They must also take into
consideration the student's age, personal, academic and discipline
history and other mitigating factors. Therefore, suspension
should not be the first or only method of
dealing with inappropriate behaviours, except for in certain
circumstances when suspensions are mandatory.
Furthermore, each board of education has a Code of Conduct which
not only applies to students, but to everyone involved in the
public education system, including teachers, parents, volunteers
and other staff members. This code states that everyone has
rights and responsibilities to promote and learn within an
atmosphere of respect and safety.
Students can be suspended for a period of one to twenty days,
during which time they are not allowed to attend school or
participate in school activities. Children suspended for more
than 5 days (ie. 6-10 days) must be offered academic programming to
keep up with their studies. Students suspended in excess of
10 days must also be offered supports to promote positive
behaviour. Students who agree to participate will have a
student action plan developed to help support their academic
development and behaviour. For older students, this may
include substance abuse counselling, anger management or career
counselling.
So what can parents do if their child is receiving repeated
suspensions? First of all, get the facts. Talk to your
child, but also talk to your child's teacher and principal, and ask
what triggers the suspensions and what progressive
discipline interventions have been tried prior to resorting to
suspension. If there are mitigating factors that apply,
for example if your child is very young or has a diagnosis that
impacts his or her ability to control behaviour or understand the
consequences of such behaviour, be aware that the principal
must consider these factors before suspending the student. If
your child is being suspended repeatedly for less than 6 days, but
the cumulative effect is negatively impacting his or her education,
make your concerns known in writing to the principal and/or
superintendent and/or your school trustee. Document each
suspension, and be aware of your right to appeal. Ask about
alternative programs or other interventions that might be
appropriate. Be aware that bullying is a possible underlying
factor for some students - that they may be being bullied or may in
fact be bullying others. In either case, intervention is
warranted.
Parents can find information regarding safe
schools, statistics on suspensions and expulsions by board
and other ministry policies at http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/safeschools/suspexp.html.
Finally, if you feel your child is being treated unfairly and
all else fails, advocacy groups such as Justice for Children and
Youth (http://www.jfcy.org/)
offer information and legal advice to students facing suspension or
explusion.
