Ombudsman defends record on suspensions

The ombudsman's office has defended its record in handling complaints over student suspensions, saying while its decisions are not binding they are adhered to.

The Ombudsman Quarterly Review discussed the idea of the need for an independent tribunal for school students to have disciplinary hearings reviews.

The idea has been around for a while. In 1993 Green MP Metiria Turei promoted it after an Invercargill school excluded a 14-year-old boy who admitted smoking cannabis out of school time.

The exclusion was described as extreme and police said the child would have been allowed to stay in school if he had gone through the youth justice system. It also raised concerns that punishments were issued without underlying causes being considered.

The Ombudsman article said that since 1989 school boards have been subject to the Ombudsman Act and there had been complaints about suspensions and expulsions ever since.

Investigations looked at whether boards acted fairly and where an ombudsman found the decision was flawed it would make recommendations.

"While there is no legal obligation on a school board of trustees to accept an Ombudsman's recommendation, in most cases they do."

The article noted a situation, not about a suspension, where a school did not follow an ombudsman's recommendation and the parents took the case to court.

The judge in the case said using the ombudsman was a better way of dealing with cases than the legal system.

The article said the decision showed that the Ombudsman's investigation was accepted by the court as providing an effective remedy.

There are about 20,000 stand-downs and 5000 suspensions a year.

- NZPA