MP'S SUGGESTION 'NUTS'

Wellington - A Green Party call for an independent body to review school
decisions to exclude or suspend pupils is "nuts", Education Minister Trevor
Mallard says.

Mr Mallard was commenting on Greens education spokeswoman Metiria Turei's
suggestion after publicity about an Invercargill school excluding a
14-year-old boy who admitted smoking cannabis.

Ms Turei wants an independent body to be established to review "potentially
unlawful decisions" to exclude pupils. Her call follows an Invercargill
youth advocate's plea for concerned families to force a change in the way
James Hargest High School deals with problem pupils.

Former Southland Youth At Risk committee chairman Bob Simpson said the
plight of the boy excluded by James Hargest last month was not an isolated
case.

The James Hargest board of trustees decided to exclude Scott Irvine after
he admitted smoking cannabis. The incident happened out of school time and
away from the school grounds.

Scott was waiting for rugby practice to start and was not in school uniform
at the time.

He was interviewed by a senior teacher three days later and admitted
smoking cannabis.

Mr Simpson said the school's handling of the situation "was inappropriate".

"Their business is turning out happy, well-adjusted pupils. That's what we,
as a community, give them millions of dollars to do."

Ms Turei said Scott's case was "another example of a school acting outside
its statutory authority and taking extreme punitive action against a pupil
without legal or educational justification".

Police have said Scott would likely still be at school if the incident had
been handled through the justice system. He would have been dealt with by
Youth Aid and probably received a warning, with no school involvement.

Mr Mallard dismissed the need for "a whole new legal system" to deal with
such cases.

"In dozens of cases each year where parents aren't satisfied, they go back
to boards and ask them to review their decisions.

"Several times each year, boards change their mind as a result of those
decisions," he said. - NZPA