Stand-down and suspension requirements
Your principal may decide that a situation is serious enough to warrant the most severe punishment of standing-down or suspending a student.
Taking a student out of school can have a significant impact on them and their education.
However, the emotional and physical safety of all students and staff must be maintained.
What's the difference between a stand-down and a suspension?
Both disciplinary actions result in the formal but temporary removal of the student’s right to access education at your school.
A stand-down is a within-school management tool.
A student can only be stood-down for up to five school days in a term or a total of ten school days in a school year.
If a student transfers schools during the year, any stand-down days already used will travel with them, reducing the number of days potentially available to your principal.
Once a student has been stood-down for the maximum days allowed, your principal will have to consider suspension of that student, if further disciplinary action is required.
A suspension removes the student’s right to attend your school until your board holds a suspension meeting to decide if they can be successfully returned to your school or not.
Your principal cannot require a student to stay away from school for a behaviour-related reason without using a formal stand-down or suspension.
Asking a student not to attend school without a formal stand-down or suspension (sometimes called a "kiwi stand-down") is against the law.
Who can stand-down or suspend a student?
Only the principal, or someone delegated in writing to act as the principal in their absence, has the authority to stand-down or suspend a student.
What can a student be stood-down or suspended for?
Strict criteria must be met before a principal can stand-down or suspend a student.
Under section 80 of the Education and Training Act 2020open_in_new, the principal of a state or state-integrated school may stand-down or suspend a student if:
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Their gross misconduct or continual disobedience is a harmful or dangerous example to other students at the school, or
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Because of their behaviour, it is likely that the student, or other students at the school, would be seriously harmed if they were not stood-down or suspended.
The purpose of this legislation is to provide principals with a variety of responses depending on the severity of the behaviour.
It is designed to create change.
If the student is unable to manage their own behaviour because of their condition or situation, within-school behavioural management processes may be more appropriate.
How will your principal decide whether to stand-down or suspend a student?
Flowchart 1: Principal considers possible stand-down or suspensionopen_in_new outlines the steps your principal must take when deciding whether to stand-down or suspend a student.
Your principal must consider the following questions:
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Has the school exhausted all avenues of additional support?
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Has the school worked with the parent(s) to address issues?
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Has there been a referral to any agencies?
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Is the matter serious enough to consider stand-down or suspension?
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Did the student's gross misconduct or continual disobedience set a harmful or dangerous example to other students at the school?
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Is it likely that the student, or other students at the school, would be seriously harmed if they were not stood-down or suspended?
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Have the student's parent(s) been told of matters affecting progress or relationships?
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Has the student received guidance and counselling?
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Are there unique factors in the student's health or relationships?
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Is there an appropriate alternative to a stand-down or suspension?
Principals must apply the principles of natural justice at all times and act fairly and reasonably in the circumstances.
The principal's decision to stand-down or suspend could be challenged if they have not considered all the above factors.
What is gross misconduct?
The High Court has said that “gross misconduct” means misconduct that is "striking and reprehensible to a high degree."
This means it is not trivial behaviour that could be expected of most children or young people.
The courts have established that you cannot automatically label a particular action or behaviour as gross misconduct, as this would pre-determine the outcome.
In other words, your board can't pass a by-law (school rule) that says if a student breaks it, the behaviour will always be deemed gross misconduct.
The school must allow for students' individual needs, personal situations, and learning challenges.
What is continual disobedience?
Continual disobedience is when a student regularly and deliberately ignores rules or refuses to do what they're told.
There must be a pattern of entrenched misbehaviour and an element of deliberate non-cooperation.
Continual disobedience isn't enough by itself for a suspension or stand-down. The behaviour must also be a harmful or dangerous example to other students.
Principals must have informed the parent(s) of any interventions and guidance that the student has been provided with to support them to modify their behaviour.
What is behaviour risking serious harm?
Behaviour risking serious harm means it is likely that the student, or other students at the school, will be seriously harmed if the student is not stood-down or suspended.
Serious harm is defined in the Education and Training act as “an event or circumstances that seriously and detrimentally affect the ongoing welfare of the student, including (without limitation) physical injury, physical illness, or mental illness.”
Standing-down or suspending a student for this reason should be a last resort and only used if safety concerns cannot be managed in other ways.
What is your board's role in stand-downs or suspensions?
Your board does not get directly involved in student stand-downs. Your principal manages these.
Your principal should be reporting regularly to your board on any identified trends and patterns relating to student behavioural management, such as stand-downs.
This could include information such as the number of stand-downs, duration of stand-downs, general reason for stand-down, and what is being implemented to minimise future behavioural issues. It should not identify individual students.
In the case of a suspension, your board must hold a suspension meeting to decide the outcome for the student within a strict time frame.
You must decide on one of the following four possible outcomes:
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Lift the suspension without conditions
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Lift the suspension with reasonable conditions
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Extend the suspension with reasonable conditions
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Exclude or expel the student.
Your board has several obligations to meet and processes to follow.
Refer to our article on Student suspension meetings in our Resource Centre for more details on your role once a student has been suspended.
Questions your board could ask
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Do all board members and school staff have an understanding of the requirements around stand-downs and suspensions?
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Does your principal report on trends, patterns, and potential risks around student behaviour that may result in a student stand-down or suspension at every board meeting?
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Are there any trends that indicate we might need to act at a governance level?
Templates, resources, and references
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