Mom questions school for keeping 10-year-old out of class for 4 weeks after hitting student

A Saint John mother is questioning the fairness and legality of a decision by school staff to keep her son who has autism home for weeks and reducing his classroom hours.

It was 2 p.m. on Oct. 3 when Erin McCavour received a call asking she leave work to pick up her 10-year-old son Preston from Saint Rose School after he hit another student during gym class.

According to principal Victoria Moseley in an email to McCavour the following day, her son's "increasingly unsafe" behaviour had prompted staff to contact Anglophone School District South and the Saint John Police Force about doing a "violent risk threat assessment" on him.

"He will remain out of school until the assessment is complete and steps are put in place, at which point I will inform you of the plan," Moseley said, in the email shared with CBC News.

After nearly a month of waiting, McCavour received an email from Moseley on Wednesday evening saying her son could return Monday, but just for half-days the first week.

"I think it's bogus. I don't think it's correct," McCavour said.

"I think, 'OK, you just took this child's education away for almost a month now to come up with this solution. Why did it take so long?'"

Upon his return Monday, Preston will receive one-on-one support away from "the common learning environment," said Moseley, in her email on Thursday.

And for the first week, he'd only be in school from 9 a.m. to noon, instead of the usual 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. schedule.

After that week, he'll attend school from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., but still just with one-on-one instruction.

"He's done well more than his punishment, and why does he not get to come back to school and return to class with his peers?" McCavour said.

"For the next month, that we know for sure... he will be just stuck one-on-one with an adult, basically like school jail, I think."

CBC News asked Anglophone School District South the circumstances under which schools can send students home, and for how long.

Spokesperson Jessica Hanlon said superintendent Zoë Watson wouldn't be available to comment, and directed CBC News to the Department of Education's Policy 703, which deals with creating a "positive learning and working environment."