Have your say on changes to school board objectives and NELP provisions

Proposed changes to school board objectives 

The Government wants to hear your thoughts on possible updates to the objectives for school boards as listed in section 127 of the Education and Training Act 2020. 

Education and Training Act 2020 No 38 (as at 30 June 2024), Public Act Contents – New Zealand Legislation

Main objective

To have a primary objective focused on student achievement as the top priority for school boards with the other objectives in section 127 included as necessary to achieve the primary objective.

New objectives

Add 2 new objectives for school boards: one about student attendance and one about assessing student progress.

Rights references

Remove the specific mentions of “student rights set out in the Act, the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 and the Human Rights Act 1993” (Section 127(b) (ii) because school boards already need to follow these laws. Other objectives related to safety, inclusion and reducing any forms of discrimination will stay the same.

Treaty clause update 

Move Section 127(1)(d)(iii) about achieving equitable outcomes for Māori students to the beginning of Te Tiriti clause to make it more prominent. The intention is for the clause to require schools to give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and achieve equitable outcomes for Māori students, including by giving effect to the other requirements under this clause (section 127(1)(d)(i) which relates to tikanga Māori, mātauranga Māori, and te ao Māori and section 127(1)(d)(ii)) which relates to making instruction available in tikanga Māori and te reo Māori. 

Curriculum focus

Change the term ‘local curriculum’ to ‘teaching and learning programmes’ to make clear that schools need to give effect to the national curriculum through their teaching and learning programmes. This is just a wording update and does not change the meaning of this clause.

Proposed changes to National Education and Learning Priorities (NELP)

The Government is also asking for your say on whether to remove the requirement for a statement of National Education and Learning Priorities (NELP) from the law. If this change happens:

• A future NELP would not be issued.
• Schools and early learning centres would not need to follow a NELP.
• The current NELP is intended to stay in effect until it ends in November 2025.

Have your say

You have until 14 October 2024 to give your feedback on these proposals. 

Your voice is important and will help shape the final decisions.

Find out more and have your say.

Have your say: Changes to school board objectives and NELP provisions

You can also email your feedback to [email protected].