Parents would be allowed to appeal a short-term suspension – one to 10 days – if it meant their child would be suspended for 11 or more school days in a calendar year.
At present,appeals for a chief executive’s review of a principal’s decision are only allowed on long suspensions of between 11 and 20 days.
“Providing an appeal right for accumulated short suspensions provides greater procedural fairness for students and their parents or carers,” Farmer told parliament.
But Oakey State High School principal Danny Keenan,who has 27 years’ experience as an educator,said new appeals processes would not make life better for students or easier for school staff.
“We can’t attract teachers to the profession,and these statewide mandates won’t make life any easier for us,” he said,addressing a parliamentary committee considering the bill.
“Poor behaviour is a giant factor why people quit teaching in droves.”