This report builds on the findings of an earlier report on the experiences of children and young people who have been suspended or excluded from Queensland state schools. The earlier report demonstrated the disproportionate use of school disciplinary absences (SDAs) on First Nations students, students with disability and students living in out-of-home care and amplified the voices and lived experiences of children who experienced exclusionary discipline. This report updates and extends the analysis, using 2024 and 2025 data to monitor the current state of disproportionality. It also begins to examine the underexplored issue of the intersection between SDAs and children experiencing poverty. 

The report informs a broader program of work that will further explore disparities in SDA use and the intersection with poverty, examine patterns and practices across schools, and identify evidence-based alternatives that better support children to remain engaged in education. The report positions the use of SDAs as not only a matter for education policy and practice, but one requiring systemic reform. By updating the evidence base and introducing poverty as an intersecting concern, the paper begins a broader conversation about how we must shift the focus from individual student behaviour to inequitable system design.