Hipkins ChrisEDUCATION (SCHOOL DONATIONS) AMENDMENT BILLThird ReadingHon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister of Education): I move That the Education (School Donations) Amendment Bill be now read a third time.Today is a great day for the tradition of a free education in New Zealand schools. The passing of this bill represents a significant step towards our goal of removing financial barriers to participation in education in New Zealand at every level. This bill delivers on the Government's commitment to restore the right to free schooling for New Zealand school students be it at primary school intermediate school or secondary school. This bill goes a long way to delivering on that commitment.The Government recognises that for some time now parents have been under significant pressure to bridge the funding gap that schools often find that they are experiencing. They have been saying for some time that the funding they've been receiving from the Government isn't enough and that parents need to dip into their pockets in order to make up the difference. Parents feel under enormous pressure to pay those donations. We know that for some schools that is leaving them at a serious disadvantage because the parents in those schools simply cannot afford to pay those donations.I think of some low decile schools where I go into them and I'll speak to the principal and the principal will say We ask for a $50 donation and we're lucky if 10 percent of our parents will pay that in a given year." I then go into some of the other schools who are in a more fortunate position who are asking for very large donations and they get in a very high proportion of those. We know that the reliance on donations across the schooling system is creating a significant inequality in our schooling system and our Government is committed to addressing that. That is why we are starting with all decile 1 to 7 schools and making an extra $150 available to them if they do not ask for donations.The analysis that we have done in implementing that policy is that the vast majority of decile 1 to 7 schools would receive on average less than $150 per student per year in school donations; decile 8 9 and 10 schools—that's not always the case. In fact probably the significant majority of those would be receiving on average more than $150 per student per year in donations from parents. We know that those lower decile schools in particular will find the playing field significantly levelled as a result of this policy.We also know that schools face significant uncertainty when they're having to rely on revenue from what are donations. These are voluntary donations they cannot compel parents to pay them and yet the schools are finding that they are reliant on those in order to make ends meet. This policy is going to deal with them.This comes on top of other moves that the Government has made to restore the rights to free schooling in New Zealand. Abolition of NCEA fees will help 168000 secondary school students and 150000 former secondary school students to meet the costs of their education by removing those fees that they have to pay for their qualifications.How will this scheme work? First of all we had to create a way of getting schools the money with the conditions attached to it. So this bill allows a new form of grants to schools called discretionary grants that can be recovered if the school doesn't meet the condition of those grants. The school board will have to opt in to the extra funding in lieu of donations by way of a resolution of their school board. We're asking them to consult with their parent communities before they make that decision.The Minister will be able to place conditions on the payment of those discretionary grants and that funding will be able to be recovered if a school does not comply with those conditions. It's important that when we go to schools and say "You can have this extra money if you don't ask for donations." they shouldn't then be able to turn around and keep that money if they continue to ask for donations. This bill will allow the Minister to recover the funding if they deliberately don't follow the rules.There are some issues that this bill has surfaced. The issues that the bill has surfaced are actually to do with the current rules around a free school education not with the changes this bill implements. For example we've made it clear—and I've made it clear as a Minister—that I will be exempting school camps from the requirements imposed on schools who take the extra funding and agree not to ask for donations. But the issue here is that many schools have been charging a fee for a school camp. The reality is that under the current rules—the rules that exist today before this bill is passed—schools cannot charge a fee for a school camp that is part of curriculum delivery. They can ask for a donation towards the cost of that school camp but many schools have been calling that a fee. The reality is under the current rules rules that have been in place a long time including under the previous Government they cannot compel parents to pay a fee for a school camp. The exemption that we're putting in place will mean that the status quo when it comes to school camps—in terms of the rules not necessarily the current practice—will continue in force which means that they will still be able to ask parents to make a donation towards the cost of a school camp. They will not be able to charge a fee. They cannot charge a fee now.Questions have been asked about what's the definition of "a school camp" so let me clear that up once and for all. A school camp is something that involves an overnight stay as part of the activity. That's pretty clear. That's a camp. So if it's a trip to Wellington where they do some activity—they might go and visit the Reserve Bank; that was an example that was used—then if they're staying overnight in Wellington it's a school camp and they can ask for that. If they're doing a day trip somewhere and they're not staying overnight it's not a camp therefore they can't ask for a donation to cover the cost of that.There are some things that schools also won't be able to charge a fee for: swimming lessons. They can't charge a fee for swimming lessons at the moment; they can ask for a donation towards that. If they opt in to this scheme they won't be able to ask for a donation towards swimming lessons. It's pretty clear to understand. What is clear also is that under the current rules and under the new rules non-compulsory voluntary optional activities that schools currently charge a fee for they'll be able to continue to charge a fee for. Alastair Scott: A fee or a donation?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: No a fee. If a student is participating in a sporting activity in the weekend for example a school right now can charge them a fee for that and if they opt in to the donation scheme they'll still be able to charge them a fee for that. It's a voluntary activity. It's not directly related to curriculum delivery. It's not done during school time—although school time is not the only requirement here because some sporting activity happens during school time for example and the students make up that time elsewhere. The school can still charge a fee for that providing it's not a compulsory activity that everybody needs to take part in.So parents can choose whether or not they pay donations now for most things that happen in school. I guess the other point that I should point out is that where there's a materials fee involved for a take-home component—so students who are doing technology for example they might make something that they take home—parents can be asked to pay for the materials for a take-home product. They can be asked to pay for those materials now under the current rules. They'll be able to be asked to pay for those materials under the new rules.I've also been very clear that the decile 1 to 7 targeting for the first roll-out of this policy is not the end of the matter. Our Government's objective is to remove financial barriers to participation in schooling in New Zealand at every level. That means that decile 8 9 and 10 schools will have to be a little more patient but we are going to be working with them about how we can make sure the funding system is equitable for every school in New Zealand.I want to finish in the last two minutes by covering some of the reaction to the policy because the policy has been very much welcomed. I think of schools like Masterton Primary School for example with its 300 pupil roll where they get about $2000 per year in donations. They'll get $45000 under this policy. Solway Park school principal Mark Biggs estimated that his school is going to be $20000 better off. "As a decile 6 school we're piggy in the middle. We do not get the considerable extra Government funding like decile 1 to 4 schools but our families are not wealthy enough to ask for large donations either. The biggest winners will be the children and our average hard-working families struggling to pay mortgages and meet the rent." I think about Kuranui College principal Barbara Caldwell who said "The Government donation scheme is another step towards equity and education." or the Whareama School principal Darren Kerr who said "It's a system that will see more income for us to use on students and makes the need for voluntary payments a thing of the past. It will also remove the stigma for parents who cannot afford to pay the donation." This one story comes from the Wairarapa and it covers the reaction of principals over there. There have been stories like this up and down the country from school principals who have welcomed this extra funding. They have welcomed the extra equity that this will put into our school system because it says to every student in the country that they deserve a quality education regardless of their parents' ability to pay. We know that at the moment for low- and mid-decile schools that's a real struggle. They are reliant on parental donations. They shouldn't be reliant on parental donations and this Government is doing something about this. This is a great day for the tradition of a free school education in New Zealand and I commend this bill to the House."