Page 4788 - Week 13 - Thursday, 28 November 2019
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Finally, I outline our understanding of the registration process which will be enacted by this bill and clarify that this is the precondition to the Canberra Liberals’ support. Should a parent need to withdraw their child from a school at short notice due to, say, severe bullying or violence or another issue, a parent must complete an application form for home education and submit it to the Director-General of Education. This application must contain the information set out in the regulations attached at schedule 1. This includes information about the child’s name, the parents’ names and proof of parental responsibility as well as the address where the child will be educated.
The directorate then has 28 days in which they must make a decision. If the director-general is satisfied, on the paperwork supplied, that the conditions of registration will be complied with, the registration must be granted. During this 28-day window, the child will have a reasonable excuse for not attending school.
The opposition’s amendment to this bill to be discussed in the detail stage further clarifies and makes it abundantly clear that while an application is being assessed and considered by the directorate neither a student nor their parents will be at fault under any compulsory attendance provisions of the Education Act.
Should the application be granted, the child will be registered for home education, but this registration is conditional upon providing the directorate a full plan for the child’s home education within the first three months of the registration period. There has been some confusion about this registration: is full registration or not? We have likened it to a drivers licence where you have a full license with conditions upon it. That is not to say, however, that a licence itself is not granted in its entirety. This is an inelegant and curious route, but it appears to be a solution that is acceptable to the major stakeholders, the government, and the opposition.
The Canberra Liberals will be supporting the amendment bill and will continue to keep an eye on the application of the new system and structure to ensure that home educators and the children at the centre of this do not suffer or, worse, that children are prevented from accessing home education if their schools fail to accommodate their educational needs. I commend the bill.
MR RATTENBURY (Kurrajong) (4.24): The ACT Greens will be supporting this bill as well as the subsequent amendments. For those of us who have been involved with this bill since it was first tabled in the Assembly it is very positive to see it finally debated and brought forward with a strong degree of support by those who have taken an interest in it.
I acknowledge the more recent engagements my office has had with Minister Berry’s staff and their willingness to look at some of the issues that have been identified with the original bill. I appreciate the considerable efforts of her office and the minister herself over the past few months in seeking to find a way forward. Likewise, my staff have also had positive and productive discussions with Ms Lee’s office, which has also been appreciated.
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