After 195% Homeschool Surge in Australia, Government Seeks to Mandate a Curriculum

This article originally appeared on The Epoch Times and was republished with permission.

Guest post by Monica O’Shea

The Queensland government has introduced legislation in parliament mandating that home education is consistent with the Australian government’s curriculum.

This comes amid an almost tripling of students who are been homeschooled in the state since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Education Minister Di Farmer introduced the Education (General Provisions) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 on March 6, which includes amendments related to homeschooling.

Under the proposed changes, students who are schooled at home are required to follow the government’s syllabus for senior subjects.

AUSTRALIA: After 195% homeschool surge in Australia, government wants to mandate a curriculum.

This is a clear overreach.

This bill mandates a curriculum alignment for home schoolers, which is an infringement on the freedom of parents to choose the best education for their… pic.twitter.com/a3YqrlhE1w

— UngaTheGreat (@UngaTheGreat) March 8, 2024

“The bill sets out that home education programs in Queensland must be consistent with the Australian Curriculum or Queensland syllabus for senior subjects, consistent with approaches in other jurisdictions,” Ms. Farmer said in the Queensland parliament (pdf).

“Since 2019, we have seen a 195 percent increase in the number of students registering for home education.”

The minister noted that more than 10,000 students are currently registered for homeschooling in Queensland.

Ms. Farmer said that given these higher numbers, it is “more important than ever” that students are undertaking a high-quality program.

In addition, she highlighted that the legislation provides “safeguards for student wellbeing.”

“The bill requires a summary of the educational program to be provided at the time of application for home education registration to ensure the child or young person has immediate access to a high-quality program and removes the separate time-limited provisional registration application,” Ms. Farmer told parliament.

“This will provide a single and simplified home education registration process with appropriate oversight by the department.

“Further, the bill removes the need for a certificate of registration and associated obligations, to reduce an unnecessary regulatory burden for parents. Instead, parents will continue to receive a written notice, as they do now, setting out evidence of registration and any conditions on registration.”

Ms. Farmer said the bill establishes a “new guiding principle” emphasising that home education “should be in the best interests of the child or young person.”

“This must take into account the child’s safety, well-being, and access to a high-quality education. This amendment was included in the bill after public consultation on home education amendments was completed,” Ms. Farmer said.

“Using a guiding principle which makes explicit that a child or young person’s best interests must be central to the significant choice of home education is something I am confident Queensland families and home educators will support.”

After being introduced to parliament, the bill was referred to the Education, Employment, Training, and Skills Committee without debate.

Home Education Australia Responds

Home Education Australia spokesperson Samantha Bryan raised concerns with AAP that the mandate may lead to more parents taking home education underground.

Ms. Bryan also told the publication most families registered with the Home Education Unit are succeeding with homeschooling, even if they are not following the national curriculum.

“If children are already receiving a high-quality education, if the system’s not broken, why are we trying to allegedly fix it,” she said.

Read the full story at The Epoch Times.