Special school board wins challenge to readmission direction

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

The Board of Management of a Special School had its challenge upheld by the High Court on 8 June 2021, quashing a direction to readmit a pupil.

The court found that the appeal committee acted irrationally and exceeded its jurisdiction by relying on irrelevant matters when allowing the appeal against the pupil’s expulsion.

Mr Justice Barr remitted the matter to the Minister for Education to establish a new appeal committee, and struck down the related departmental direction.

The judgment records that the pupil’s parents had appealed the expulsion under section 29 of the Education Act 1998, leading to the committee’s determination and the readmission direction.