SD 60 to participate in student exclusion investigation

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The local school district is set to participate in an investigation into British Columbia’s school system.

The investigation will be conducted by Jay Chalke of Ombudsperson British Columbia, an institution that assists with complaints from the public about the administration of government programs and services.

In a February 10th letter, Chalke wrote that he has initiated an investigation into the exclusion of students from classrooms and schools in the province’s public education system.

“Our investigation will examine the extent to which K-12 students are being excluded from schools across the province and will assess whether the ministry and school districts are fairly administering and overseeing these exclusions,” Chalke wrote. 

School District 60 (SD 60) superintendent Stephen Petrucci explained that the investigation will look at all school districts to gather information for a future report. 

“Their team will be contacting the school district to ask various questions and gather some information about those instances,” said Petrucci. 

Petrucci said he expects Ombudsperson to reach out to the district within six weeks. 

Chalke stated it is important to hear from everyone involved in K-12 schools. 

“We plan to connect directly and confidentially with employees of school districts including teachers, educational assistants and other educational professionals,” Chalke wrote.

Petrucci explained instances of exclusion are always an individual situation, and are approached as such. 

“Every student and family is different, and that’s how we approach it, and certainly this report will provide a view across the province of different procedures and data around student exclusion,” Petrucci concluded.