Trustees at Hamilton, Ont.’s public school board are asking staff to look at reducing language barriers when it comes to communicating with families about suspensions and expulsions.
Staff at the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) will report back in September about how feasible it would be to make information about suspensions and expulsions available in the top 10 non-English languages spoken by students locally, especially those who are disproportionately impacted by suspensions.
Data presented during Monday night’s board meeting confirmed that some students are suspended at a higher rate than the board average, including Black students and those from Indigenous and Arabic-speaking families.
Boys, bisexual students and students with certain disabilities are also overrepresented.
The more detailed breakdown of suspension and expulsion data was made available following a motion from Ward 2 trustee Sabreina Dahab in April that was prompted by community members calling for more transparency.
Monday night’s motion was brought forward by student trustee Aisha Mahmoud, who called it a “clear step forward” in knocking down barriers.
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“Language, which we have seen in the data, causes families and students to struggle throughout the suspension expulsion process and even puts students at a higher risk of suspension,” said Mahmoud.
Dahab supported Mahmoud’s motion, saying that students and families may not fully understand their rights when it comes to suspensions because of language barriers.
“I think about the implications of that consistently, in talking to families who don’t recognize they have the right to appeal or what an appeal even is, or who they can talk to when they feel like a suspension is unjust.”
Sheryl Robinson Petrazzini, HWDSB’s director of education, said staff will need to look at the “budgetary implications” of moving forward with this initiative, as translation services can be very expensive.
“I am very much in favor of ongoing and clear communication with families and I understand that there is some information that we need to ensure that we translate into multiple languages,” said Petrazzini. “When we are looking at longer items, it becomes cost prohibitive, so that would be my concern.”
The board will also be expunging some suspensions and issuing apologies to parents and caregivers of 38 students between kindergarten and Grade 3 whose suspensions were apparently “not in accordance” with Ministry of Education policy.
“For 2022-23 and going forward, K-3 suspensions are closely monitored to ensure Ministry direction is upheld,” reads the report from the board.
The report also acknowledged that it has “a lot of work to do” when it comes to ensuring certain segments of the student population aren’t impacted by suspensions more than others.
The next steps identified by the board include holding monthly learning sessions for principals, vice-principals and system leaders to improve their understanding of human rights, anti-Black racism, and the HWDSB’s Indigenous Education Circle Strategic Action Plan.
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