Changes for school boards

The new Education and Training Act 2020 has passed into law with the majority of the Act coming into effect on 1 August 2020. It replaces all major existing education and training legislation and is intended to be a simpler, more modern and less prescriptive replacement for the previous framework.

It was introduced following the completion of the government’s comprehensive Education Work Programme which included the final report of the Tomorrow’s Schools Taskforce Final Report and the Government’s response to that report: Supporting all Schools to Succeed: Reform of the Tomorrow’s Schools System.

Some of the changes for school boards include:

• four primary objectives covering educational achievement, student safety, inclusivity, and giving effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi
• a code of conduct for board members that sets out minimum standards of conduct which each board member must comply with
• local complaint and dispute resolution panels for when serious disputes cannot be resolved within the school
• boards will be required to consult students (when appropriate), staff and the school community when making school bylaws.
• the responsibility of enrolment schemes will shift from school boards to the Ministry, although schools must still be consulted on their development.

For more, see our article The new Education and Training Act – what’s changing for boards?