Principals are required to consider whether a student should be suspended if he or she has engaged in any of a list of identified behaviours under s.306(1) and s.310(1) of the Education Act.
The activities or behaviour that a principal believes a student has engaged in while at school, at a school-related activity or in other circumstances where engaging in such behaviour will have an impact on the school climate may necessitate a suspension of a minimum of one day up to 20 days includes:
- Uttering a threat to inflict serious bodily harm on another person.
- Possessing alcohol or illegal drugs.
- Being under the influence of alcohol.
- Swearing at a teacher or at another person in a position of authority.
- Committing an act of vandalism that causes extensive damage to school property at the pupil’s school or to property located on the premises of the pupil’s school.
- Bullying.
- Any other activity that is an activity for which a principal may suspend a pupil under a policy of the board.
Whether the behaviour impacts on school climate is a matter of the principal’s discretion informed by board practice. The impact cannot be speculative or anticipated; it must be demonstrable.
A principal may only delegate the responsibility to suspend a student to the vice-principal of the school if the delegation is in writing and only for suspensions of up to five days. This responsibility may not be delegated to a teacher-in-charge or anyone else but the vice-principal.
A principal may not suspend a student more than once for the same occurrence.
In addition to ensuring that the proper and prompt notice of the suspension is provided, programming must also be provided to the student in accordance with PPMs 141 and 142 as well as board policy.
School board procedures regarding student suspensions will generally cover the following topics
- academic component
- length of suspension
- maintenance of record
- mandatory and discretionary reasons for suspension
- mitigating factors
- notification of a suspension
- procedures to follow
- review of a suspension
- sample notification letters to be used and
- the student action plan.
There are also important notice requirements that must be satisfied each time a student is suspended. Where a principal suspends a student, he or she is to
- inform the student’s teacher of the suspension
- make all reasonable efforts to inform the student’s parent or guardian of the suspension within 24 hours of the suspension, unless the student is at least 18 years old, or the student is 16 or 17 years old and has withdrawn from parental consent and
- provide the student and the student’s parent or guardian a written notice of suspension which must include the reason of the suspension, the duration for the suspension, information about any program for suspended students to which the student is assigned and lastly, information about the right to appeal the suspension.
The period of the suspension, which cannot exceed 20 days, must also be used by the principal to undertake an investigation to determine whether to recommend to the board that the pupil be expelled from his or her own school or all schools within the board. To be clear, the principal cannot expel students but can recommend expulsion to the school board. Only the school board can expel students.