Image: Tom Ackroyd, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
By Nathan Walton and Anastasia Marambos
New Zealand’s Minister of Education, Erica Stanford, in a press release on 18 May, revealed new, seemingly benign changes to “support the learning and wellbeing of students in homeschooling” by “establishing clearer requirements for home education, including regulatory conditions to maintain exemptions from school enrolment.” However, despite the apparent benignity of the Minister’s plans, these changes are not at all what they seem. Upon further investigation, it is clear that the changes are, in fact, no more than a Trojan horse for unjust State intrusion on homeschoolers and their families.
The requirements include a new powers under section 38 of the Education and Training Act 2020 for the Ministry of Education to set regulations of any kind that it likes on homeschooling families, including new mandatory reporting and assessment requirements, as well as additional targeted and intrusive Education Review Office (ERO) reviews of homeschooling families.
There is a gross lack of clarity on what the reporting and assessment requirements could look like, and one must keep in mind that compliance with these requirements is necessary for families to retain their homeschooling exemption. In other words, these changes open the door for the Ministry revoking homeschooling exemptions en masse for non-compliance. Yet, if the Ministry sets reporting requirements that are unreasonably burdensome (for example, monthly, weekly, or even daily reporting requirements, all of which would be within its power under these changes) – how could any family comply in the first place? Or, if the Ministry sets a particular assessment requirement, and a homeschooled child fails that assessment, would it mean the family loses their homeschooling exemption? That these are possible and even plausible scenarios under the proposed changes signals that the Minister’s proposals are ill-considered, poorly drafted, and deeply unjust.
Shockingly, no consultation of homeschooling families or bodies like the National Council of Home Educators NZ has even taken place, as evidenced by a Regulatory Impact Statement from the Ministry of Education. The document states variously:
“Due to time constraints, no consultation on this specific proposal has occurred with home educators, or their representative associations.” (p. 3).
“We recognize that consultation with key groups is missing.” (p. 3).
“There will be an administrative cost placed on home educating families to complete any specific regulatory requirements more regularly. The cost of this is unable to be quantified.” (p. 4).
Due to the lack of consultation, the statement blithely anticipates possible “home education sector pushback: we have not engaged with the sector on this change.” (p. 5).
Erica Stanford is right to anticipate pushback. A government should never impose such fundamental changes on any system without consulting those most affected, especially the education system, which is so integral to the wellbeing and development of children. Please urgently contact your local MP and every party’s education spokesperson from the list below (in order of importance) to oppose the proposed changes to home education in New Zealand. Let’s protect the future of homeschooling in New Zealand!
Andy Foster (NZ First Party Education Spokesperson): andy.foster@parliament.govt.nz
Laura McClure (ACT Party Education Spokesperson): laura.mcclure@parliament.govt.nz
Ginny Andersen (Labour Party Education Spokesperson): ginny.andersen@parliament.govt.nz
Erica Stanford (National Party Education Spokesperson): erica.stanford@parliament.govt.nz
Lawrence Xu-Nan (Green Party Education Spokesperson): lawrence.xu-nan@parliament.govt.nz
Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke (Māori Party Education Spokesperson): hana-rawhiti.maipi-clarke@parliament.govt.nz
