Pubdate: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 Source: Kitchener-Waterloo Record (CN ON) Copyright: 2001 Kitchener-Waterloo Record Contact: http://www.therecord.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/225 Author: Stacey Ash Note: With files from Mirko Petriveciv, Record Staff 2 EXPELLED UNDER SAFE-SCHOOL RULES WATERLOO -- Waterloo Region is taking the lead in enforcing tough new safe-school regulations introduced in Ontario schools last week. Two students have been temporarily expelled from Waterloo Collegiate Institute in what appear to be the first expulsions issued by any school board in the province under the new legislation. "You don't want to necessarily be the first," said Mark Harper, a rookie high school principal at Waterloo Collegiate. "We're just trying to move cautiously with it and take into consideration the safety of our community and of these students as well." In his first week at Waterloo Collegiate, Harper expelled the two students over what school board associate director Colin Armstrong described as a drug-related incident. Harper said he wanted to be sure proper procedure was followed finalizing the precedent-setting expulsions yesterday. "It's brand new, so we're going through territory that we want to be careful around," Harper said. "We want to be sure we're working within the legislation, but at the same time we don't want to rush too far ahead." As required by the legislation, police were also called in to deal with the two students, Harper said. But Waterloo regional police would not confirm details of their investigation. Citing the confidentiality of the expelled students, Harper offered few details. The only drug-related section of the Safe Schools Act that requires expulsion is for students caught selling or giving drugs or weapons to another student. Harper said the incident is currently being dealt with as a 21-day expulsion -- the shortest expulsion a principal can issue. Principals can only expel students from their own schools and can extend an expulsion up to one year. A principal can also ask the school board to begin a formal process that could see students expelled indefinitely from all schools in the province. Armstrong said students expelled by a principal may apply to attend another area high school, but can be turned down if the principal at the receiving school feels they are a threat to the safety or well-being of students, staff or the school in general. Mandatory consequences outlined in the Safe Schools Act officially implemented on Sept. 1 include a list of about 18 behaviours that result in automatic suspension or expulsion. Suspensions can range from one to 20 days, with the first day of any suspension unappealable. Many larger school boards in the province -- including the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board, the Bluewater District School Board and the Halton Catholic District School Board -- dealt with at least a handful of mandatory suspensions during the first week of school. But none of the more than 50 public and separate school boards contacted by The Record yesterday had issued any expulsions. Because the rules were finalized only days before the start of classes, many boards in the province are not ready to apply them. Some, like the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board, will not allow principals to expel students, despite the new regulations. Expulsions will continue to be dealt with by a committee at the Peterborough-area school board. The Toronto Catholic District School Board is expected to hold a formal expulsion hearing this month into an incident during the first week of school. The only way a student expelled indefinitely from all provincial schools by a school board committee can return to the education system is by completing one of nine so-called "strict discipline programs." The Waterloo Region District School Board received $2.3 million to pilot one such program, known as Choices for Youth. Staff at the Choices for Youth program planned to devote the month of September to training and preparation work. The three Choices for Youth centres -- one in each of Waterloo, Cambridge and Kitchener -- are not expecting students until at least October. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake