Reconsideration of a student suspension meeting

If a student has been unable to comply with the conditions of their suspension, your principal may ask you to hold a reconsideration meeting.

During the reconsideration meeting, your board looks at why the student is unable to comply with the conditions and tries to find a way forward.

It is not a new suspension meeting or an appeal process.

Therefore, the original incident is not revisited.

Your board has several obligations to meet and processes to follow.

To get an overview of what is involved, download the Ministry of Education's Flowchart 5: Reconsideration of suspension: Action by boardopen_in_new.

What obligations does your board need to meet?

Essentially your board must follow the same procedures and rules that you did for the original suspension meeting.

That is, your board must hold the reconsideration meeting:

Within seven school days of the meeting request; or
If it was in the last week of a term, within ten calendar days from the day of the request.

You must ensure all information reaches the student and their parent(s) at least 48 hours before the reconsideration meeting (note: if all the parties agree, this timeframe may be reduced).

Ensure your process meets the principles of natural justiceopen_in_new.

You must consider all four statutory outcomes of a suspension meeting again:

Lift the suspension without conditions (remove the condition that was imposed at the suspension meeting).
Lift the suspension with new or amended conditions that the student is capable of meeting.
Extend the suspension with new or amended conditions that would reasonably be expected to enable the student to return to school successfully in a reasonable period of time.
Exclude or expel the student.

Note: The student remains in school during the period between the request for the reconsideration meeting and the holding of that meeting, unless they are already on an extended suspension.

What written information do you need to provide?

Like the suspension meeting you will need to ensure the following information is provided to the parent(s) – this is normally done by the principal because they have access to the information required:

When and where the suspension meeting will be (work with the parent(s) to determine the best location and time).
What options the board has for the reconsideration of the conditions (so they know the possible consequences).
Information about the procedures at reconsideration meetings (so they know what to expect).
Advise that the student and their parent(s) attend the meeting and speak about the situation (so they can prepare).
The principal's report to your board on why your principal considers the reconsideration of the conditions originally imposed is required (so they know the situation they are responding to).
All material that the principal will present (so there are no surprises).

What should the principal's report contain?

Your principal's report should contain factual and objective information about the non-compliance of conditions.

It should not introduce new concerns or behavioural issues that were not part of the original suspension or related to any condition imposed.

If there are new behaviours or incidents unrelated to the conditions then the principal can decide to stand down or suspend the student.

That would be an entirely new process outside of the reconsideration process.

The reconsideration process is solely focused on the reasons why this student has been unable to meet the conditions the board imposed on them.

How do you run a reconsideration meeting?

There is no rule about how formal this meeting must be.

Therefore, the formality of the meeting will depend on your school’s culture, relevant tikanga, and values.

However, your board must either form a quorum or delegated committee to hold a reconsideration meeting (referred to as 'the board' for simplicity).

The meeting will follow the same process as the original suspension meeting but focus on why the student has been unable to meet the required conditions.

The general flow of the meeting will be:

Your principal will present their report outlining the details around the non-compliance.
Your student and their parent(s) are provided time to respond to the situation from their perspective.
Work with the student, their parent(s), and the principal to identify if and how the condition can be modified to assist the student to modify and control their behaviour.
Your board will then need to consider each of the four statutory outcomes again for this student. (This consideration process can take place with or without the other attendees being present).
The outcome is then recorded in your meeting minutes and formally provided to the student, their parent(s) and your principal.

If at any time anyone involved in the meeting asks for an adjournment to consider information that is new to them, you must allow it provided you can still make your final decision within the 7 school day / 10 calendar day timeframe.

When writing the outcome of reconsideration meeting to the parent(s), use the Ministry of Education’s template lettersopen_in_new.

Questions your board could ask

Do we know what our board's role is in reconsideration meetings?
Do we reflect on previous reconsideration meetings and look for ways to improve?
Are we focused on finding realistic ways of supporting this student to modify their behaviour with the student, their parent(s), and our principal?
Are we tracking all requests for reconsideration meetings?
Are there any trends that indicate we might need to act at a governance level?

Templates, resources, and references

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