The Minister for Education, Ms Hanafin, is set to announce a commission on school discipline later this week.
The move is a response to concerns expressed by teachers unions that the breakdown in discipline is reaching crisis proportions in many schools. There is already speculation that the review body could lead to a fundamental shift in the legal context in which schools now operate.
One source said: "We could be looking at new legislation where the priority will be the rights of the entire class and not the rights of one disruptive pupil."
It is thought the review body will also examine the issue of expelling disruptive pupils from school. In recent years, teacher unions and management bodies have complained that the current legal framework makes it very difficult to expel even the most disruptive pupil.
Ms Hanafin will announce the composition of the new group in the coming days and is expected to include national and international experts. The main education partners, including parents, teaching unions and school management representatives, will also play a key role in the process.
Among other issues the review body will:
examine international best practice in the area of discipline;
study the current legal framework in which schools operate;
examine the policies and procedures employed to handle complaints in schools, and
review the current balance between the individual rights of children and those of teachers and the wider schoolgoing population.
Since her appointment, Ms Hanafin has acknowledged that indiscipline was one of the major problems facing schools.
The establishment of the commission represents a major coup for the Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI), which has been to the fore in highlighting the issue.
Last month, a TUI conference on discipline heard how teachers have been subjected to bullying, sexual harassment and innuendo, spitting and the destruction of personal property. More teachers were more concerned about discipline than levels of pay.
The TUI believes provision should be made for consistently disruptive children to be excluded from the classroom. Its president, Mr Paddy Healy, has said legislative changes should be introduced "as a matter of urgency" to allow schools to deal with the discipline issue. "We want positive rights to be given to the vast majority of students to an education and for teachers to be allowed to teach in a safe place and effectively," he said.
Last year, it was revealed that the majority of students who are expelled or suspended from secondary schools successfully appealed the decision. At the time, school principals and school managers complained the situation was making it impossible for them to impose tough disciplinary action of the kind expected by many parents.
Department of Education figures show that 47 students have appealed against their "permanent exclusion" from schools since 2001, but only five were actually expelled.
In other cases, parents managed to overturn the expulsion on appeal or schools were forced to withdraw the expulsion.
A new general manager of the Central Applications Office (CAO) has been appointed. Mr Ivor Gleeson will take up his post this week.
