Page 4790 - Week 13 - Thursday, 28 November 2019
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regulatory framework for home education of children. The bill strikes a careful balance between the right of a parent to choose home education for their children and the responsibility of the government, on behalf of the community, to look out for the rights and wellbeing of children and young people.
While there are relatively few children in the ACT whose parents have chosen to home educate—a little over 300—it is, regardless, important that there is a robust framework in place to make sure that these children receive a high-quality education. The ACT community has a justifiable interest in ensuring that parental decisions about child education still result in a minimum education standard. There is also an obligation on the government to consider how it looks out for the wellbeing of children removed from the protective view of their key point of community contact outside the home, being a school.
As was intended when it was presented, the regulatory framework to be established by the bill is detailed through regulations. Over the time leading to debate, the government has engaged in extensive consultation about procedural elements of home education registration and has developed regulations for this purpose. Following the in-principle debate, I will move amendments that will insert the regulations as a schedule to the bill. The government is doing this to ensure that its intended approach is clear before the Assembly considers whether to agree to the bill.
The government amendments detail the single-step process for registering a child for home education. Registration will be granted on application after the parents of a child seeking registration for home education provide basic information such as that necessary to establish a child’s identity and parental responsibility. The director-general must decide on an application within 28 days of receipt of a complete application.
By way of a condition on registration, the parents of a child registered for home education must, within three months of registration, supply further detailed information about how they will provide a high-quality education and meet the learning needs of the child, and meet with a government official to discuss the home education of a child. If these conditions are not met, the government may initiate regulatory action that may ultimately lead to cancellation of the registration. Following second and subsequent periods of registration, parents must meet these two requirements within 10 school days.
Consultation with stakeholders highlighted that a key concern is the amount of time required for parents to prepare and provide education materials and a statement of intent to the director-general. With the removal of provisional registration, a six-month period, parents raised concerns that they would not have sufficient time at registration to develop their education statement of intent detailing how they would educate their child and meet the conditions of registration. The bill would particularly affect parents who made the choice to home educate their child on short notice due to wellbeing or educational concerns.
The government amendments provide a three-month period for parents with new registrations to learn how to teach their child, collect materials and programs, and
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