Exclusion confusion
A father complained to us that his son, who has special needs and behavioural issues, had been excluded from his high school without reason or appropriate communication.
A father complained to us that his son, who has special needs and behavioural issues, had been excluded from his high school without reason or appropriate communication. According to the Education Act, an exclusion allows a school board to refuse to admit a person whose presence, in the principal’s judgment, would be “detrimental” to other students, without formally suspending or expelling them.
When we looked into the case, we learned the principal wanted to activate a safety assessment process to facilitate the student’s return to school, but had not provided the father with a written explanation along with the relevant appeal options, as required by the board’s Safe Schools policy.
RESULT: After we pointed this out to the board, it created a new exclusion policy and procedure, which will include consultations between parents and the principal and give excluded students access to educational programming and a re-entry plan. The board also explained these changes to the father and apologized for the lack of clear information. The son was able to participate in additional programming at a local community service provider.