Schools urged to make submissions on new Education Bill

Schools urged to make submissions on new Education Bill

Proposals to update the Education Act for the 21st century reflect a need to think about the flexibility schools and others need in their legislation, says Acting Secretary for Education Katrina Casey.

The present Act came into force in 1989 and has been amended more or less every year since then.

The Ministry of Education held an initial round of consultation last year, with over 1800 submissions received in response. This feedback has helped to shape the draft legislation that will be forwarded to Parliament's Education and Science Select Committee in the coming months.

There will be a further consultation period as part of the Select Committee process and Ms Casey urged schools to look for the draft legislation when it reaches Select Committee and to make their own submissions on it. If enough submissions are received from around the country, Select Committees may 'go on the road' to give submitters a better opportunity to speak to them directly, she says.

The Ministry of Education is already aware of some schools' plans to use the legislative process as an opportunity for their students to learn about the way Parliament creates laws and how the public are able to participate in that process.

Ms Casey was addressing an audience of just over 900 trustees at the NZSTA annual conference in Wellington.

ENDS

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