“Gross misconduct” is serious misbehaviour. Whether something is serious misbehaviour will always depend on the situation. The misconduct must be serious enough to justify removing you from school.
School rules can’t automatically say certain behaviour is gross misconduct. The school must consider your individual needs and circumstances.
For example, if a student has experienced a trauma, they might need some grace. The principal should take this into account when deciding what to do.
Case: R v Syms and “gross misconduct”
M & R v Syms and the Board of Trustees of Palmerston North Boys’ High School (December 1990) [2003] NZAR 705
The courts have said serious misconduct must be “striking and reprehensible to a high degree”, and not just minor things that young people might do every now and then.
For example, in a case where students on a school ski trip were suspended for drinking alcohol, the judge said that whether drinking alcohol amounted to “gross misconduct” would depend on all the circumstances, and the school had to consider questions such as who got the alcohol, how much was consumed, and whether the student was drunk.