Decision by school to expel boy (15) ends up before High Court

A High Court challenge has been brought against a decision to expel a teenage boy from the secondary school he had been attending.

The 15-year old boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was expelled by the school’s board of management earlier this year.

The boy requires various educational supports and has health issues which require attention. He is currently out of school.

The decision to expel him was taken following a number of serious incidents at the school earlier this year including when the boy threatened members of staff, damaged school property, and used inappropriate language.

That decision was appealed to the Department of Education which appointed a three-person committee under Section 29 of the 1998 Education Act (known as a Section 29 Committee).

In August the committee decided to dismiss the appeal and upheld the decision to expel the teen.

That has resulted in High Court proceedings where it is alleged that the committee’s decision is flawed on several grounds.

It is claimed that the committee failed to take relevant information into account including that the school did not put in place a recommended behavioural plan to help the teen deal with his behaviour and extreme anxiety.

The failure to put in place the supports and strategies it is claimed contributed to the boy’s behaviour in the school.

It is also claimed that the committee in breach of fair procedures took the boy’s record in other schools into account. The boy had been expelled from another school he had previously attended.

That was something that the committee should not have taken into account when arriving at their decision, it is alleged.

It is also alleged that the school’s expulsion letter does not comply with the 2000 Education (Welfare) Act, as there was no input into the decision from an Education Welfare Officer.

The action has been brought by the teen, through his mother, against the school’s board of management, the Department and the three-person section 29 committee.

Represented in court by Derek Shortall Bl the teen seeks an order quashing the committee’s decision disallowing the appeal against his expulsion, and that the matter be remitted back for a fresh hearing before a differently constituted committee.

He also seeks various declarations including that the committee members erred in law by failing to take proper factors into consideration including the school board’s failure to put in place appropriate supports for him.

Permission to bring the challenge was granted on an ex-parte basis by Mr Justice Richard Humphreys.

The judge adjourned the matter to a date later this month.