A principal shall consider whether to suspend a pupil if he or she believes that the pupil has engaged in any of the following activities while at school, at a school-related activity or in other circumstances where engaging in the activity will have an impact on the school climate

1. Uttering a threat to inflict serious bodily harm on another person.

2. Possessing alcohol, illegal drugs or, unless the pupil is a medical cannabis user, cannabis.

3. Being under the influence of alcohol or, unless the pupil is a medical cannabis user, cannabis.

4. Swearing at a teacher or at another person in a position of authority. 

5. Committing an act of vandalism that causes extensive damage to school property at the pupil’s school or to property located on the premises of the pupil’s school.

6. Bullying. 

7. Any other activity that is an activity for which a principal may suspend a pupil under a policy of the board.  

   • HWCDSB Policy SM09 Code of Conduct

     • Uttering a threat to inflict serious bodily harm on another person;

     • Possessing alcohol or illegal drugs;

     • Possessing cannabis, unless the pupil has been authorized to use medically approved forms of cannabis for medical purposes;

     • Being under the influence of alcohol/drugs or other hazardous substances;

     • Being under the influence of cannabis, unless the pupil has been authorized to use medically approved forms of cannabis for medical purposes; 

     • Swearing at a teacher or at another person in a position of authority; 

     • Committing an act of vandalism that causes extensive damage to school property at the pupil’s school or property located on the premises of the pupil’s school; 

     • Bullying; and,

     • Any act considered by the principal to be contrary to the HWCDSB Board Code of Student Conduct and Discipline or School Code of Conduct which includes, but is not limited to:

       • fighting/violence (e.g., punching, biting, spitting, kicking);

       • threaten, inflict, or encourage others to inflict bodily harm on another person;

       • sexual harassment;

       • any other type of harassment including, but not limited to, verbal, physical, emotional;

       • use of abusive language or disrespectful behavior towards peers, staff or community members; 

       • vaping/smoking;

       • use or possession of tobacco and nicotine products, electronic cigarettes (e.g. vaping apparatus), or controlled drugs;

       • possession/sharing of inappropriate images;

       • recording in any form (e.g. video or audio), taking, sharing, and/or possessing non-consensual recordings, photos or images of members of the school community including, but not limited to peers, staff, and volunteers*;

       • inappropriate behavior (e.g., throwing items, pulling alarms);

       • selling electronic cigarettes (e.g. vaping apparatus), tobacco and nicotine products, or illegal/controlled drugs or to a minor; 

       • possession of drug paraphernalia;

       • the use of a personal mobile device during unauthorized times as prescribed by the HWCDSB Code of Student Conduct and Discipline;

       • refusal to hand in a personal mobile device that the pupil has used in the classroom or during instructional time without authorization from the classroom teacher; 

       • theft;

       • profane or improper language;

       • habitual neglect of duty;

       • opposition to authority;

       • willful destruction of school property, or the property of others, including but not limited to pupils’ and staff’s property;

       • using racist and/or discriminatory terms, language or name calling; 

       • using social and digital media, the internet, artificial intelligence and/or other virtual platforms inappropriately; and

       • any act considered by the principal to be injurious to the physical or mental wellbeing of any member of the school community (e.g., shoving, pushing, taunting, harassing).

A principal shall suspend a pupil if he or she believes that the pupil has engaged in any of the following activities while at school, at a school-related activity or in other circumstances where engaging in the activity will have an impact on the school climate:

1. Possessing a weapon, including possessing a firearm.

2. Using a weapon to cause or to threaten bodily harm to another person.

3. Committing physical assault on another person that causes bodily harm requiring treatment by a medical practitioner.

4. Committing sexual assault.

5. Trafficking in weapons or in illegal drugs.

6. Committing robbery.

7. Giving alcohol or cannabis to a minor.

7.1 Bullying, if,

i) the pupil has previously been suspended for engaging in bullying, and

ii) the pupil’s continuing presence in the school creates an unacceptable risk to the safety of another person.

7.2 Any activity listed in subsection 306 (1) that is motivated by bias, prejudice or hate based on race, national or ethnic origin, language, colour, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or any other similar factor.

8. Any other activity that, under a policy of a board, is an activity for which a principal must suspend a pupil and, therefore in accordance with this Part, conduct an investigation to determine whether to recommend to the board that the pupil be expelled. 

   • HWCDSB Policy SM09 Code of Conduct

     • Possessing a weapon, including possessing a firearm;*

     • Using a weapon to cause or to threaten bodily harm to another person;*

     • Committing physical assault on another person that causes bodily harm requiring treatment by a medical practitioner;*

     • Committing sexual assault;*

     • Trafficking in weapons or in illegal drugs;*

     • Committing robbery;*

     • Giving alcohol to a minor;

     • Giving cannabis to a minor;

     • Bullying, if, 

       1. the pupil has been previously suspended for engaging in bullying and 

       2. the pupil’s continuing presence in the school creates an unacceptable risk to the safety of another person.

     • Any activity listed in subsection 306 (1) that is motivated by bias, prejudice or hate based on race, national or ethnic origin, language, colour, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, socioeconomic status, family status, or any other similar factor;

     • Any other activity that, under a policy of the board, is an activity for which a principal must suspend a pupil and, therefore in accordance with this part, conduct an investigation to determine whether to recommend to the board the pupil be expelled;

     • Giving illegal drugs to a minor;

     • Trafficking in controlled drugs or cannabis;

     • Engaging in exploitative behaviour or engaging in coercion leading to human trafficking or sex-trafficking; 

     • Recording in any form (e.g. video or audio), taking, sharing, and/or possessing nonconsensual recordings, photos or images of members of the school community including, but not limited to peers, staff, and volunteers where the recording, taking, sharing or possession results in or contributes to coercion, exploitation, extortion, humiliation that impacts mental wellbeing, or incites others to cause harm to others;

     • An act considered by the principal to be significantly injurious to the moral tone of the school and/or to the physical or mental well-being of others;

     • A pattern of behaviour that is so inappropriate that the pupil’s continued presence is

     • adjudged to be injurious to the effective learning and/or working environment of others;

     • Activities engaged by the pupil on or off school property that cause the pupil's continuing presence in the school to create an unacceptable risk to the physical or mental well-being of other person(s) in the school or Board (e.g., extortion, bomb threat);

     • Any activity considered by the principal to be a serious violation of the requirements for pupil behaviour and/or a serious breach of the HWCDSB Board Code of Student Conduct and Discipline or HWCDSB School Code of Conduct;

     • Where a pupil has no history of discipline or behaviour intervention or no relevant history, a single act, incident or infraction considered by the principal to be a serious violation of the expectations of pupil behaviour and/or a serious breach of the HWCDSB Board Code of Student Conduct and Discipline or HWCDSB School Code of Conduct; and

     • Committing any type of assault on a person in a position of authority (e.g., verbal, physical, sexual).

* Activities that necessitate police involvement.