General policy statement
This Bill amends the Education Act 1989 to abolish the decile system and replace it with a needs index.
The decile system awards public funding to schools and students based on discriminatory socio-economic characteristics. The decile system is a blunt instrument that has led to schools being stigmatised and unfairly judged. This Bill removes the decile system as a funding mechanism and replaces it with a needs index which can more accurately assess a child’s likelihood of underachievement and target funding, allowing schools to better support disadvantaged students.
The needs index will target funding for students who demonstrate certain indicators, which will be prescribed by regulation to indicate students who are at risk of not achieving NCEA Level 2. These indicators could be amended by the Minister through consultation with parents, the teaching profession and the education sector.
This Bill also establishes safeguards to protect the privacy of individual students, including those who are at risk of not achieving, and ensure their data is anonymised. It amends the Official Information Act 1982 to ensure that student data is not subject to the Act. It also requires that the collection of data and calculation of the needs index comply with the Privacy Act 1993.