Government ramping up truancy enforcement, parents condoning it could be prosecuted
"The previous government ceased to pursue prosecutions, I think that was a mistake," David Seymour says.
Photo:
RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Parents who repeatedly refuse to send their children to school are more likely to be prosecuted as the government cracks down on truancy.
The Ministry of Education is now poised to take legal action against those parents, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says.
It is proactively contacting schools and truancy officers to ensure parents condoning truancy are referred to the Ministry to be considered for prosecution.
The rules were not changing, but the government was ramping up enforcement because schools and truancy officers said it was needed, Seymour said.
"There are some parents who just refuse to cooperate, don't care about their kids' futures, and the people working at the coalface have told me it would be helpful if they had another sanction that they could bring into play."
They wanted a "coercive power" that would ensure parents took school attendance seriously, Seymour said.
No parent had been prosecuted for refusing to ensure their kids attended school for more than five years, he said.
"The previous government ceased to pursue prosecutions, I think that was a mistake," he said.
"We're making it clear that the Ministry of Education is back in business and will respond to requests from schools to take prosecutions."
When a parent is referred to the ministry for condoning truancy, staff would decide whether to prosecute, and it would then be a matter for the courts, he said.
Parents
faced fines
of up to $300 for a first offence and $3000 for a second or subsequent offence.
Seymour said 90,000 students were chronically absent.
"We are not going to prosecute the parents of 90,000 students. This is an option for people working at the frontline ... if they have someone who is more of a 'won't' than a 'can't'."
The ministry would not prosecute parents of students who were "genuinely engaging" with the school, or those who were absent because of chronic illness or health conditions associated with a disability.
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