Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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389. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to outline his views on policies on the appropriate usage, utilisation and measure of forced absence sanctions or punishments, suspensions and expulsions at second level school. [14200/17]

Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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390. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to set out the relevant departmental sections and State agencies charged with overseeing and managing the employment and implementation of forced absence punishments or sanctions, suspensions and expulsions at second level as well as those charged with examining and correcting any evident overuse at individual school level. [14201/17]

Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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391. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will examine summary information concerning forced absence sanction or punishments at a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14202/17]

Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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392. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to indicate the inquiries and investigations he will initiate further to summary information concerning forced absence sanction and punishments at a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14206/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 389 to 392, inclusive, together.

The Education Welfare Act 2000 requires all schools to have in a place a Code of Behaviour. The Act requires that a school Code of Behaviour shall, inter alia, specify the standards of behaviour that shall be observed by each student attending the school, the measures that may be taken when a student fails or refuses to observe those standards, the procedures to be followed before a student may be suspended or expelled from the school concerned and the grounds for removing a suspension imposed in relation to a student.

The Act also requires that the Code must be prepared in accordance with guidelines issued by the Educational Welfare Service (formerly the National Educational Welfare Board). The EWS publication “Developing a Code of Behaviour: Guidelines for Schools” was issued to schools in 2008 and includes guidance on the legal and procedural requirements governing suspension and expulsions as well as the features of good educational practice in the use of these sanctions.

Section 29 of the Education Act, 1998 provides for an appeal by a parent or guardian to the Secretary General of my Department, or in the case of an Education Training Board (ETB) school to the ETB in the first instance, where a Board of Management of a school, or a person acting on behalf of the Board expels a student or suspends a student for 20 or more days in any school year.

Application forms for taking a section 29 appeal are available on my Department’s website or by contacting the Section 29 Administration Unit at 0761 108584 or by emailing section29@education.gov.ie.

Schools are not required to report the number of suspensions or expulsions made to my Department.

As the Deputy may be aware, TUSLA, the Child and Family Agency is the statutory body with responsibility for the administration of educational welfare functions contained in the Education Welfare Act, 2000. These include assisting parents who are experiencing difficulty in securing a school place for their child, and ensuring school attendance, participation and retention for all pupils. TUSLA operates under the remit of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs.

TUSLA collect data from schools directly on school attendance. Schools are also obliged to notify the Educational Welfare Service of TUSLA of absences of more than 20 days and suspensions of more than 6 days. Schools must also notify the EWS when they intend to expel a student from a school. My Department understands that where the EWS note excessive numbers of expulsions or suspensions the EWS can write to the Schools Board of Management to offer support to them to look at approaches that could enable them to reduce these numbers.