New statistics from the Catholic school board show 31 students were suspended for bullying last year. The actual number could be much higher.

Why? Because different principals categorize the same infractions differently.

Pat Daly, chair of the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board (HWCDSB), said the board has become aware, through a review of their suspension data, that similar infractions are categorized differently by different principals.

Basically, one principal might slot a suspension-earning infraction such as bullying into the board's bullying category, while another might deem it to be verbal abuse or violence.

To address the issue, the board has struck a suspension-coding committee. The aim is to develop a consistent practice of coding infractions in order to better analyze data for insights, patterns and trends, and inform actions to support safety in schools.

"We want to really make sure that we get it right," Daly said of the committee's goal of producing more accurate data sets. "And that when we share data, people can be confident (it's accurate)."

Due to the inconsistent data categorization, it's currently difficult for the board to spot trends, he said.

The announcement comes amid new data on suspensions released this week.

The new suspension data shows a total of 2,204 students were suspended in 2018-19, with just 31 suspended for bullying. Meanwhile, 242 students were suspended for violence and 34 students were suspended for verbal abuse. Around 29,300 students were enrolled in Catholic schools that year.

When asked if the public board has similar concerns to the Catholic board regarding how principals categorize suspensions, spokesperson Shawn McKillop said the board has already reviewed categories to ensure data is appropriately reported.

"That's why, in 2016-17, the 'other' categories were added to clarify," McKillop said, referring to a broad umbrella category called "board-set infractions" which was broken out into subcategories such as "sharing of images" and "making a bomb threat" in 2016-17.

"There are no plans at this time to formally review the categories, but reviewing the categories is monitored annually," he said.

At the Catholic board, committee work has already begun but stakeholder consultation will take place in the new year.

Daly and Toni Kovach, the board's superintendent of education, said it was not struck as a response to the fatal stabbing of Grade 9 student Devan Selvey on Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School property in October. Selvey's mother says he was relentlessly bullied at school. Police say they are looking into the role bullying may have played in his death.

"This process began as a result of questions from trustees and requests for more specificity from principals," they said in an email.

And they want to be clear: "School administrators have an understanding of bullying; it's the tracking that is inconsistent."

It's not just bullying that the committee will look at, but all infraction data.

The committee, led by a secondary school principal, will look at all infractions and all existing reporting forms with the goal of developing a consistent understanding of what each infraction entails. Once the committee has concluded its review and consulted with stakeholders, including parents and employee unions, it will present its findings to the board. If recommendations are adopted, professional development will be provided to principals, vice-principals and secretarial staff, who may be logging suspension data.

While the 2019-20 suspension data for the school year thus far is not yet available — and the public board doesn't release their 2018-19 statistics until February — there have already been a number of violent or potentially violent incidents at both public and Catholic schools in Hamilton this year.

The highest-profile incident was the stabbing death of 14-year-old Selvey behind his school on Oct. 7. A 14-year-old now faces a charge of first-degree murder and his 18-year-old brother faces charges related to the incident.

On Oct. 11, police charged two teenage boys for allegedly bringing a hatchet and a knife to Glendale Secondary School.

Later that same month, police said they were investigating after a "consensual" fight between two youths involving a knife and a stick or pole on Oct. 23. The fight took place off school property. A 13-year-old and a 15-year-old sustained minor injuries.

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In November, police charged a mother and a student after both allegedly brought weapons to St. Thomas More Catholic Secondary School.

katrinaclarke@thespec.com

905-526-4629 | @katrinaaclarke