HWDSB to release more detailed data on suspension and expulsions

Hamilton's public school board trustees voted unanimously Monday night to have staff release more detailed data on student suspensions and expulsions.

The updated Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) data is set to include a breakdown by grade, high priority schools and special education status.

It will also seemingly include a breakdown by gender, the way reporting in the past used to include, and will be aligned with student census data.

The expectation is staff get as much done as possible by June and report back to trustees on if they need more time.

It comes after some trustees, parents and community members called for more detailed data, citing fears that suspensions and expulsions are being disproportionately applied to racialized students.

School boards in Toronto and Peel Region have more detailed data, which showed racialized students are disproportionately suspended.

The latest HWDSB data showed there were 3,902 students suspended and 46 expelled in the year.

It also showed suspensions and expulsions for bullying, hate, serious assaults, sexual assaults and weapons are on the rise.

Trustees heard HWDSB used to have more detailed data but stopped because it was time-consuming and the student census changed.

"The current process is causing immense harm to our communities," said Ward 2 trustee Sabreina Dahab during the meeting.

"I hear from racialized parents, immigrant parents, parents who don't speak English ... they're scared all the time," she said, adding the new data can help the board improve its processes.

Community members say HWDSB needs to take action

Dr. Monika Dutt, whose son was suspended before the suspension was erased, said she thinks her ability to speak English was key to swift action.

Eisham Karim, a delegate who spoke before trustees Monday evening, said he's heard about families face language barriers and struggle to understand why their child was suspended, let alone fight it.

Michelle Tom, a former teacher who worked in B.C., said HWDSB needs the data to help better establish alternatives to suspensions and expulsions like restorative justice.

She also pointed to HWDSB's Safe Schools Action Plan — established after the 2019 death of Devan Selvey — which recommends collecting school-level disaggregated data by identity on all reported incidents of bullying, both formal and informal, every six months.

"This is a key recommendation that needs to be implemented before another tragic event happens," she said.

"Ignoring or delaying ... would be a grave mistake."

Dutt, who was also a medical officer of health in Newfoundland and Labrador, said race-based data helped prove how COVID-19 hit people of colour harder than other populations.

"It gave us a way to measure, to act and to be accountable," she said.

The delegates said HWDSB should also report on how it is adhering to Bill 197, which proposes to eliminate discretionary suspensions for students from kindergarten up to Grade 3.

The new suspension and expulsion data is set to be before trustees by June 5, but director Sheryl Robinson Petrazzini warned trustees that staff may need more time to align the figures with student census information.

Trustees heard that a portion may be complete closer to the fall if it isn't done by early June.