HALF OF SCHOOL SUSPENSIONS RELATED TO MARIJUANA

During her report to the Prince Rupert School District Board of
Education, assistant superintendent Leah Robinson provided a list of
high school suspensions so far in the 2008/2009 school year - A list
dominated by students being suspended for the use of marijuana.

Of the 52 suspensions handed down so far this year, 30 have been for
marijuana use. Of those 30, 20 have involved Aboriginal students while
23 have involved male students.

Under board policy, each suspension related to substance abuse
requires a re-entry meeting involving the student, the parents, the
principal and the assistant superintendent, with the final decision on
re-entry being left to the assistant superintendent. Of the 30
suspensions for marijuana use, only four students have been denied
re-entry into the school.

"We try to have a restorative approach. We come here and all get to
talk about it.Most of the time that is enough to get the student to
stop," said Robinson.

"We are actively engaged in helping our students to make better
decisions."

A total of 72 per cent of the suspensions, which also include
suspensions for fighting, behavior and alcohol, have involved male
students, and Robinson noted that the data related to Aboriginal and
non-Aboriginal student suspensions is similar to the make-up of the
district itself.

"It is an issue for all families, not just Aboriginal families.It is
an issue for all students in the district," she said, noting that
grade 10 has the highest number of suspensions of all the high school
grades.

According to Robinson, the data was broken out into Aboriginal and
non-Aboriginal students at the request of the Aboriginal Education
Council.