Suspensions

Suspension process

The following information provides guidance to schools on investigations, decisions, notification and follow up for the school suspension process.

First steps – before suspension

Determine if suspension is an option

Suspension is a serious disciplinary measure and is best reserved for incidents when other measures have not produced a satisfactory response.

A principal may only suspend a student if their behaviour meets the grounds for suspension. For information on when suspension may be an option, refer to Grounds for Suspension under Suspension Considerations.

Conduct a preliminary investigation

The principal should conduct a thorough investigation to establish:

• the nature of the behaviour(s)
• the student who committed those behaviour(s)
• the context of the student's behaviour, including where and when the behaviour occurred, and
• any other relevant circumstances in relation to the incident or behaviour.

It is not the role or responsibility of schools to conduct criminal investigations.

Where police are investigating the same behaviour, schools are to work in partnership with Victoria Police, including seeking advice from police if school staff can speak to relevant students or staff about what occurred. A police investigation into criminal behaviour may or may not preclude the school from implementing safety measures and health and wellbeing supports for any affected students or staff members.

Decisions regarding suspensions do not require a criminal investigation or a charge, they are to be assessed on how that behaviour meets the grounds for suspension, including the impact on a student or staff member’s ability to come to school to learn and work.

Schools must manage and report incidents in accordance with the Managing and Reporting School Incidents (Including Emergencies) policy. This includes (but is not limited to) incidents that occur during or outside school hours where there is a subsequent impact on students or school community.

Collect and document findings

In addition to the steps required to manage an incident in Managing and Reporting School Incidents (Including Emergencies), schools must for the purpose of considering a suspension and ensuring procedural fairness, collect and document all relevant findings to establish the context and details of the behaviour and incident. This should include details on who, what, where, when and why. This may include staff and student witness recounts and information provided by the student directly impacted by the behaviour and the student whose behaviour is being investigated.

Please note there may be circumstances where it is not appropriate, and potentially illegal, for schools to obtain or retain a copy of evidence of student behaviour. For example, any child abuse material that comes into the possession of the school must be forwarded immediately to Victoria Police and managed in accordance with directions given by police.

In the case of behaviour being considered under the Exceptional Grounds – outside of school activity, it is acknowledged that a wide variety of information about the behaviour may not be readily available. The principal should be satisfied that it is more likely than not that the student has engaged in behaviour that poses a significant danger, whether actual or threatened, to the health, safety or wellbeing of another student or a staff member of the school. This decision may be formed by reviewing, screen shots, emails and other documentation as well as considering recounts from staff and students. If police are investigating the behaviour, the investigation by the school may be limited to considering any information available from the affected student or staff member and any information provided directly by police.

Schools will also need to gather evidence to understand the impact of the behaviour on a student or staff’s ability to safety engage in work or learning at the school. This should involve discussions with impacted students and staff.

Tools that may assist in considering and assessing online incidents and capturing evidence include the eSafety Commissioner’s Respond 2 - Quick reference guides for responding to online safety incidents (PDF) and the Online incident assessment tool (PDF)

Consider options

When determining if suspension is appropriate for a particular student, consideration must be given to:

• the behaviour for which suspension is being considered
• the educational needs of the student
• any disability of the student
• the age of the student
• the residential and social circumstances of the student
• whether the suspension would unfairly impact a student from a particular cultural background – for example, if the suspension would fall on a day which would prevent a student from a particular cultural background from participating in a cultural activity day about that student’s culture.

Consideration should also be given to previous incidences of challenging behaviour and the support/disciplinary measures employed to respond to these.

For more information, refer to Behaviour – Students.

Determining if behaviour is in scope for Exceptional grounds - outside of school activity

The Exceptional Grounds - outside school activity does not extend to all negative behaviour undertaken by young people in the community. Principals cannot exercise their powers to suspend or expel unless the behaviour outside of school poses a significant danger, whether actual or threatened, to the health, safety or wellbeing of another student or a staff member at school. Further the behaviour must have a clear and close connection to the student’s school that unreasonably impacts another student or staff member’s participation in school.

Clear and close connection requirement

The seriousness of the behaviour outside of school alone is not sufficient to justify consideration of suspension or expulsion under the exceptional ground - outside school activity. A student’s behaviour must pose a significant danger, whether actual or threatened, to the health, safety or wellbeing of another student or a staff member of the student’s school, and that behaviour must have a clear and close connection to the student’s school.

To establish if the behaviour has a clear and close connection to the school, principals must determine there is an unreasonable impact on the affected student or staff member which prevents or impedes:

• Participation in a school activity
• Engaging in education and learning opportunities at or provided by the school
• Performing work duties for or at the school.

Considerations and interventions will be dependent on the behaviour and incident particulars.

Considerations - Risk mitigation – safety measures

In determining the impact on affected staff and/or students, principals must consider if the behaviour will have a continuing impact on participation and engagement at the school and what viable interventions or measures to support the safety and well-being of staff and students can be put in place to overcome these.

Some risk mitigation measures to consider include safety planning, reasonable adjustments to minimise interaction between and protect affected staff or students and behaviour support planning.

Refer to Work- Related Violence in schools for further information on these tools and other strategies.

Consideration - wellbeing supports

In considering the impact of the affected staff and/or student and their ability to engage and participate in school, schools must consider if there are any supports available to for all affected students or staff, to wherever possible remain at or return to school.

To support staff wellbeing schools can refer to the Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Management in Schools guidance to consider what wellbeing supports can be put in place.

To support students’ wellbeing, consider:

• Referrals to Student Support Services (SSS)
• Mental health support
• Use of conflict resolution
• School wide education materials to reinforce positive behaviour and communicate expectations.

Consider information provided by student or family

Before proceeding to a suspension the principal must ensure the following:

• that the student has had the opportunity to be heard
• that any information or documentation provided by the student or the relevant person has been taken into account in making the decision regarding the suspension.

Consider supports and other forms of action

When deciding whether or not to proceed to a suspension, the principal must consider alternative interventions and supports that can be provided to the student to address the reasons for the behaviour.

In addition, when determining whether to suspend a student with a disability, principals must ensure that reasonable adjustments have been made to assist the student to address the behaviour where this is a manifestation of disability. Where the relevant behaviour was related to the student’s disability, Principals should contact Legal Division for further advice before making a final decision on suspension.

For a summary of key wellbeing interventions and supports available to Victorian government schools, refer to:

• Map of key mental health and wellbeing support (PDF)
• Map of key mental health and wellbeing support (DOCX)

Next steps – decision, notification and action

In making their decision, the principal should consider their legal obligations and principles of administrative decision making (PDF) (staff login required) as detailed in this guidance.

If the behaviour of a student meets the grounds for suspension and the principal decides to suspend, they must determine:

• whether the suspension will be undertaken in school or out of school
• the day on which the suspension will commence (including whether it will be an immediate suspension)
• the period of suspension.

Immediate suspensions

Principals may implement an immediate suspension if the student’s behaviour is putting the health, safety and wellbeing of themselves or any other person at significant risk.

Where a principal decides to implement an immediate suspension, they must ensure the student is appropriately supervised until:

• the student is collected by a parent/carer, or parent’s emergency contact person, or
• the end of the school day or activity if the parent/carer or emergency contact person is unable to collect them earlier.

When a principal has implemented an immediate suspension, the principal may determine whether or not to expel the student.

Further information on immediate suspensions is available in the Implementing the suspension section.

Period of suspension

A student cannot be suspended for longer than 5 days at any given time unless both of the following apply:

• the principal has implemented an immediate suspension and is considering whether to expel the student
• the regional director has approved the longer period for the purpose of undertaking the expulsion procedures set out in the Expulsions policy.

Additionally, a student cannot be suspended for more than 15 school days in a school year without the written approval of the relevant regional director.
In either circumstance, principals must complete the Application for regional director approval of suspension more than 5 consecutive days and/or more than 15 days in total in a school year form (DOCX) (staff login required).

If a student is suspended for a period which is longer than the days left in a term, the principal should consider the likely disruption to the student’s learning before imposing a suspension that will continue into the following term.

Implementing the suspension

Prior to the suspension taking effect, or on the day of taking immediate action, the principal must complete all of the following:

1. identify the relevant person
2. notify the student (verbally) and the relevant person (via telephone or in person) of the reason/s for the suspension, the school days on which the suspension shall occur and where the suspension will occur
3. provide contact details for additional support services to the student and the relevant person as appropriate
4. arrange for appropriate school work to be provided to the student for the period of the suspension as follows, where the student is suspended for:
   • 3 days or less, provide meaningful work
   • more than 3 days, develop a student absence learning plan and return to school plan. Schools may wish to consider using the department’s template Student Absence Learning Plan (DOCX) (staff login required) and template Return to School Plan (DOCX) (staff login required)
   • more than 5 days, in addition to the above requirements, a teacher should be designated as a key point of contact for the student and their family
5. provide the student and the relevant person with a Notice of Suspension (DOCX) (staff login required) which must include:
   • the reasons for the suspension
   • the school days on which the suspension shall occur
   • and copies of the student absence learning plan and return to school plan, if required
6. provide the student and their relevant person with a copy of the parent brochure – procedures following suspension (PDF). Consistent with the Charter and anti-discrimination legislation, documentation should be provided in alternative formats and community languages in order to meet the communication needs of the student and relevant person
7. record the suspension on CASES21, by adding a discipline incident. For support to record the suspension in CASES21 refer to Chapter 6 merit and discipline in the CASES21 administration guide. For student attendance recording requirements, refer to the Attendance policy.

It is important to discuss the reasons for the suspension with the student so that they understand why it is happening and what needs to change. Giving the student the opportunity to have a voice and influence in the discussion helps to foster their engagement in the process. This engagement may enable the student to take ownership over and make changes to their behaviour.

Final steps – post-suspension follow up and support

The principal should consider whether it is appropriate to convene a student support group meeting with the student, the relevant person, and any other adults or professionals involved in the care of the student.

The purpose of such a meeting is to discuss:

• the student's behaviour that led to the suspension
• a range of strategies to address the concerns, and
• prevent further occurrences of such behaviour.

It is strongly recommended that a meeting be convened if one or more of the following circumstances apply:

• a student and/or their relevant person requests a meeting
• a student has a disability, is Koorie or is in out-of-home care
• there have been three or more suspensions in the school year
• the student has been suspended for the maximum 5 consecutive days.

For more information refer to Student Support Groups.

In all cases of suspension, it is important to consider the student's transition back into school and any disruption to their learning. In many cases, the student will require additional educational or other supports to help address the reasons for the incident and/or any underlying behavioural issues.

Repeated or lengthy suspensions may not address the reasons for a student's behaviour and risks leading to poorer outcomes for a student's engagement in education, especially when suspension is used alone without interventions and supports that address the underlying reasons for the incident(s).