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.