Families of students who have been barred from their school prom in regional South Australia are pushing back against the decision, saying the criteria to attend is unfair to those who require additional support.
Berri Regional Secondary College in the state's Riverland region uses a key performance indicator (KPI) system to track students' grades, uniform, attendance and behaviour incidents.
In previous years, the KPIs have been used to decide whether students can take part in extracurricular events and activities like excursions, camps and sports days.
But this year, the data has also been used to determine which students can attend the school's Year 11 and 12 end-of-year prom.
Families said the system worked against children who were struggling, with 15 students receiving a letter from the school outlining they did not meet the standards.
It was a blow for those who had already purchased their tickets, carefully curated their outfits and organised transport with their friends — a rite of passage most senior students look forward to in their schooling lives.
Chloe, who can't be named to protect the identity of her sibling who received the letter, tried to appeal the school's decision by writing to the state's education minister.
In the correspondence sent earlier this month, sighted by the ABC, Chloe expressed the harm the decision had caused for the students involved.
"[My sibling] has had a bit of a rough year, which the school's been aware of and that's impacted on their attendance," Chloe told the ABC.
"I feel that even though they're aware of this, they're still choosing to exclude them from the formal; it just seems wrong.
"I think there are circumstances where students should be excluded from attending extracurricular activities, but I think those things are severe behaviour [incidents]."
Chloe said her sibling has difficulty with writing, something a teacher at the school previously identified could be dyslexia — a learning disability that runs in their family.
"[The school is] punishing them for something that's completely out of their control and it's making the situation worse," Chloe said.
"[My sibling] was already a bit hesitant about school because they feel they're not doing that well.
"But now they don't really want to return next year and are pretty apprehensive about completing Year 12."
Parents of the student met with school staff to discuss their child's personal circumstances and to clarify the KPI data, but Chloe said they were met with "vague" explanations.
Decision defended
The Department for Education says while it understands students are disappointed they're not able to attend the prom, the school is trying to support the students to develop attributes around determination, resilience and lifelong learning.
"The school has and will continue to meet with families to discuss any decision around this," said the education director for Berri, Brenton Chapman.
Mr Chapman says the school has strategies and personnel in place to help students meet the KPIs, such as one-on-one counselling and individual learning support.
"The school is providing that level of support as well as having a clear expectation," he said.
"And children with particular learning needs have differentiated learning plans which enable them to be successful irrespective of their starting point."
'Excessive' exclusion
Commissioner for Children and Young People Helen Connolly said children and families would view this kind of exclusion to be "excessive" and "disproportionate" to the behaviours they sought to address.
"In recent weeks I have heard of a few young people who are being excluded from their end-of-year formal and the impact this is having on their social and emotional wellbeing," she said.
"The language and use of standardised key performance indicators to measure educational success is not something I have heard of before.
"I have heard time and time again that the impact of educational exclusion on young people is always negative."
Mr Chapman said the school would undertake a review process regarding how the KPI system was used this year, in collaboration with students, parents and the school's governing council.
"The school is always reviewing their practices and will continue to do so," he said.
