Legal Resources
SUSPENSIONS AND EXPULSIONS UNDER THE
SCHOOL ACT (ALBERTA) Chapter S-3
Suspensions | Expulsions | Review
by the Minister | Note
to Defence Lawyers
The
legal rules governing student suspensions and expulsions are
found in sections 12, 24, 25, 124 and 125 of the School
Act (Alberta). A summary of those provisions follows.
Note:
The suspension and expulsion provisions of the School Act
should be the starting point in any research on the law, practice
and procedure pertaining to such proceedings. Each school
may have additional rules governing the suspension and expulsion
process depending on the district’s policies and regulations,
the school’s own policies and the administrator’s
personal choices. To ensure a full understanding of the administrative
process involved in a particular case, questions should be
directed to the school or school board involved. For more
information on Alberta schools’ policies and regulations,
see the Alberta
Learning Website. For the full text of the School
Act, see the Queens
Printer website.
A student may be suspended if a teacher
or principal is of the opinion that the student has either
a) failed to
comply with the Code of Conduct, or b) if the student’s
behavior is “injurious to the physical or mental
well-being of others in the school”.
The Code of Conduct (s.12) requires students to reasonably
comply with the following expectations:
a) to be diligent in pursuing their studies;
b) to attend school regularly and punctually;
c) to cooperate with school educators and service providers;
d) to comply with the rules of the school;
e) to be accountable to their teachers for their own conduct;
f) to respect the rights of others.
Suspensions may include suspension from one or more class
periods, from courses or education programs, from school,
or from riding a bus. Teachers have the limited authority
to suspend a student from one class period. All other forms
of suspension are to be conducted by the school principal.
The decision whether to reinstate a student who has been
suspended lies with the principal.
Where a student has been suspended by the principal, the
principal must do three things:
1) inform the student’s parents of the suspension
forthwith; and
2) provide the parents with a written report on all the
circumstances regarding the suspension; and
3) if a request is made to discuss the reasonableness of
the suspension, the principal must provide an opportunity
to meet with the student’s parents, and the student
if 16 years of age or older, for that purpose.
If a suspension exceeds 5 days, the
principal must inform the Board forthwith, and must provide
a written report
to the Board on all the circumstances regarding the suspension.
The written report must also include the principal’s
recommendations for either reinstatement or expulsion.
The principal may recommend expulsion if either a) the
student has displayed an attitude of willful, blatant and
repeated refusal to comply with the Code of Conduct, or
b) the student’s conduct is injurious to the physical
or mental well-being of others in the school.
The Board must make a decision on
whether to reinstate or expel the student within 10 school
days after the date
of suspension. The student remains suspended until the
Board’s decision. Before the Board’s decision
is made, the student and his/her parents are entitled to
make representations to the Board regarding a principal’s
recommendation for expulsion.
A student may be expelled by the
Board if, after considering the principal’s report and any representations made
by the student and/or the parents, two conditions are found
to exist, 1) the principal’s report recommends expulsion,
and 2) the student has been offered another education program
by the Board. When a student is expelled, the Board must
forthwith provide written notice to the parents, and to
the student if 16 years or older, of the expulsion and
of the right to request a review by the Minister.
An expulsion must be for a period of more than 10 school
days.
The Board has the discretion to re-enroll a student
who has been expelled.
The Board’s decision to expel a student may be reviewed
by the Minister. The student, if age 16 or older, or the
parents of the student can request a review in writing.
The Minister has discretion to review the matter in any
manner he/she deems appropriate, and to make any decision
that appears appropriate in the circumstances. The Minister’s
decision is final.
Where
the circumstances surrounding a suspension or expulsion involved
the school authorities in a search and seizure leading to
evidence of criminal activity, the young person may also be
facing criminal charges. There is Supreme Court authority
confirming that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms
applies to the conduct of the teachers and principals. However,
the established law under section 8 of the Charter
was modified in relation to school searches to achieve a balance
between protecting students’ reasonable but diminished
expectation of privacy and ensuring school authorities are
able to fulfill their responsibility to maintain a safe and
orderly environment: See R.
v. M.R.M.
[1998] 3 S.C.R. 393.
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