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Ministry of Education New Zealand
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The board's role

  1. At a reconsideration meeting, the board has a completely separate role from the principal. The board reviews the principal’s report and decides whether the student has failed to comply with the conditions.
  2. If the board agrees that the student has failed to comply with the conditions, it may then reconsider the original decision.
Information

Note

The reconsideration meeting relates to considering a possible failure to comply with conditions and finding a way forward. It is not a new suspension meeting or an appeal process. The original incident is not revisited.

Refer to Part 2, Section 3: 10 Suspension conditions.

Suspension conditions

How to hold a reconsideration meeting

Flexibility

  1. How a reconsideration meeting is run is a matter for each board and the format does not have to be overly formal or court-like. Also, the Act does not provide for the calling of witnesses at a reconsideration meeting. This is inappropriate. Significant disputes about facts should have already been raised, decided upon and recorded by the principal in their report. Instead, the focus is on reviewing compliance with conditions, hearing from everyone and finding a way forward.

Hearing from the student

  1. The student, the student’s parents, and their representatives are entitled to attend the reconsideration meeting, speak at it and have their views considered by the board before it makes its decision.
  2. You may, however, proceed with reconsidering the suspension if they choose not to attend or participate.

Withdrawal

  1. While you are deliberating and making your decision, you must either:
    1. a require all the other parties to withdraw from the meeting; or
    2. ask all the other parties to stay at the meeting.
  2. If the student and parents are asked to withdraw from a meeting, then the principal must withdraw too. The principal has a different role to other trustees at a suspension meeting and is not there as a decision maker. If you deliberate in private with the principal or ask the principal questions in the absence of the student and parents, this may lead to accusations of bias.

Understanding board's options

  1. The board must make only one of the following 4 decisions:
    • If you decide the student should attend your school again full time, then you must lift the suspension without conditions.
    • If you decide the student should attend your school again full time but have further specific responsibilities placed on them, then you must lift the suspension with conditions.
    • If you decide the student should remain out of your school for a set period of time in order to fulfil specific responsibilities placed on them, then you must extend the suspension for a reasonable period with conditions (aimed at facilitating the return of the student to school).
    • If you decide the student should leave your school, then you must exclude the student if he or she is under 16 or expel the student if he or she is over 16.

Refer to Part 2, Appendix: Model letters, Letter 5 – Letter following reconsideration.

Appendix: Model letters

Flowchart 5: Reconsideration of suspension: Action by board

Flowchart 5: Reconsideration of suspension: Action by board
Flowchart 5: Reconsideration of suspension: Action by board