New law sets rules for school expulsions

Pupils can no longer be expelled from a school without another one being found for them, under legislation which came into effect yesterday.

Where another school cannot be found, provisions such as home study would have to be provided, according to the Education Welfare Act.

The legislation raises the schoolleaving age from 15 to 16, and for the first time there will be a tracking system on the attendance or truancy of every pupil.

Ms Fionnuala Kilfeather, chief executive of the National Parents' Council for Primary Schools, welcomed the legislation. Its purpose, she said, was to support schools, students and parents to prevent pupils dropping out.

"It is to provide a supportive framework for students and parents in general and for families who are struggling, to encourage them to keep their children in school."

A code of behaviour will be established for every school and this will link into the school atmosphere - how the curriculum is taught and whether it is suitable for children who are struggling with the system.

Early school-leavers can have an education "plan" worked out for them so that they could continue their schooling part-time. Under the legislation parents must always provide the principal with a reason if their child is absent, and the principal must inform the Education Welfare Board if absences exceed 20 days in any school year.

The Education Welfare Board will appoint education welfare officers throughout the Republic. They will replace school attendance officers in cities and the Garda who acted in rural areas.

A "school attendance notice" can be issued if a parent fails to "cause his or her child to attend a recognised school". Fines of up to €635 or a month's imprisonment or both can result.

Ms Kilfeather said it was to "miss the main point" to say that parents who brought their children on holidays during school term and whose absence exceeded 20 days could be fined. "Obviously there can be reasons why parents take their children out of school during term time."

The penalties are aimed at persistent non-attenders, but the council opposes the fines and imprisonment. Ms Kilfeather said fines would "do more harm than good" in families where children were persistent truants, and where a parent had to be sent to jail, it would have already become a matter for child protection and social welfare services.