The following sections are Sections 5 and 8 of the Education Act 1994.
5 Exemption from enrolment
(1) A parent of a school-aged child may apply to the Secretary to exempt the child from the requirement to enrol at a school.
(2) The Secretary, at his or her own initiative or on application, may grant an exemption from the requirement to be enrolled at a school if satisfied that it is in the best interests of the child’s education to be exempted.
(3) The Secretary may –
(a) grant the exemption subject to any condition; and
(b) impose any further conditions or vary or revoke any condition at any time.
8 Certificate of exemption
(1) If the Secretary exempts a school-aged child under section 5, the Secretary is to issue a certificate of exemption.
(2) A certificate of exemption remains in force for the period referred to in the certificate unless sooner revoked.
(3) A certificate of exemption ceases to be in force if any condition of the exemption is contravened or not complied with.
(4) The Secretary may revoke an exemption if satisfied that it is appropriate to do so.
'Exemption from enrolment' is the formal approval (by the Secretary) of a child's exemption from the requirement for enrolment in compulsory education. A child who is exempted from enrolment will either be issued with a certificate of exemption or will receive a letter outlining a disciplinary sanction.
'… in the best interests of the child's education …' is the main requirement for granting an exemption. This means that reasons unrelated to the child’s education – such as 'in the best interests of the school', or family and social reasons – are not reasons for granting an exemption.
The Secretary has the authority to grant an exemption and delegates this authority to General Managers Learning Services .
- The purpose of exemption is to allow for any circumstance when it may be in the best interests of the child's education for him or her to leave school before the age of 16 years, or to delay enrolment in full time schooling after the age of 5.
- A child who will be aged at least 5 on January 1 of a given year may be granted exemption from the requirement to attend school on a full time basis in that year if the Secretary believes this is in the child’s best educational interests. This allows entry to Prep to be delayed by 12 months.
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Exemption should not be considered a disciplinary sanction. The use of exemption as a way of removing difficult students from school is improper. If a school believes that the student should be excluded from the school or the school system on the basis of his or her inappropriate or irresponsible behaviour, there are disciplinary sanctions that can be applied.
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Exemptions should not be granted for family reasons, such as the need for the student to look after younger siblings, help in a family business, or maintain the family home. All students are entitled to a full period of compulsory education. The Education Act establishes that the student’s entitlement to compulsory education must prevail over such considerations.
- There are some circumstances where delaying entry to full time schooling may be beneficial. These include where the child has special educational needs or delayed development. Where parents believe there is a sound educational reason to delay entry to full time schooling they should apply directly to the Secretary, with details of their reasons including the date of birth of their child.
- There is substantial evidence that students who leave school before they have completed secondary schooling, and even students who do not complete post-compulsory education, have severely reduced their chances in life. Early school leavers are at risk, both financially and socially - even when they have an immediate opportunity for employment upon leaving school.
- Exemption from school before the age of 16 years was frequently requested in times of high employment, when there was a demand for a youth work force.
This is clearly not the case in the present economic and social climate.
- Students disadvantaged in their personal characteristics or their backgrounds or both are much more likely to leave school early. Educational equity must be considered in relation to exemptions. The Department of Education’s equity policy aims to ensure that care and consideration are given to groups of students known to be educationally disadvantaged (such as Aboriginal students, students with disabilities and students with language backgrounds other than English).
- Schools need to relate the granting of exemptions to their capacity and obligation to provide for the needs of all young people, including students who are educationally disadvantaged.
- Exemption may represent the failure of the school or the school system to provide a relevant curriculum and a supportive school environment. Recommendations for exemptions based on the notion that the student is ‘not getting anything out of remaining at school’ may indicate that the school and/or the school system needs to rethink what it is able to offer.
- There are few situations in which it is in the best interests of the child’s education to be exempted. Exemption may be appropriate when:
- it is a condition for enrolment in an educational or vocational program being offered outside the Department of Education ;
- a student has long-term prospects of stable employment; or
- a student is in the final months of pregnancy.
- Section 82 of the Education Act should be noted in relation to employment of children. A person may not employ a school-aged child during school hours.
- The Secretary may impose any conditions on an exemption which he or she deems appropriate. For example:
- the exemption might be conditional on the student’s having full-time employment - if the employment were terminated, the student could be obliged to return to school; or
- the student might be granted exemption for the immediate pre-natal and post-natal period, on the condition that she then return to school.
- Exemptions should never be portrayed as permanent; they can be revoked, or other conditions can be added, at any time.
- A student granted exemption is still eligible to enrol at any State school, subject to the usual enrolment restrictions. A principal may not use the student’s exemption status as a reason not to enrol the student.
- Until a certificate has been issued, students should not be advised that they have received an exemption.
- It is particularly inappropriate for schools to advise students in year 10 to leave school before the end of that year.
- Parents should never be encouraged to make or be coerced into making an application for exemption as an alternative to accepting and encouraging their child to accept disciplinary processes initiated by the school.
- Schools should be particularly aware of the difficulties about exemptions for students in State care:
- Suitable care placements are hard to find and can be fragile to maintain. Exemption of students in State care puts additional pressure on these placements, sometimes jeopardising a placement which is providing the sort of stability the child needs in order to continue with education.
- When a child is in a care placement, many people are involved in decisions affecting the child: carers, child protection officers, natural parents and advocates. It is essential that schools be clear on who needs to be involved in particular decisions, and what are the correct lines of responsibility.
- Principals should refer to http:www.education.tas.gov.au/school/education/health/childprotection for guidelines on students in State care.
- Where the student is living away from home and without the care of a parent or guardian, the following should be noted:
- It is appropriate to expect the student to accept the legislative requirements of compulsory education. However, students in these circumstances may sign their own application for exemption.
- Schools should understand that these students are particularly vulnerable to many educational disadvantages. Exemption is likely to have unusually severe consequences for them. It should therefore be granted only when all other avenues have been exhausted.
When a parent applies to exempt a child from school
- Parents should complete an application for exemption form, which should be submitted to the school principal.
- If exemption is to be continued past the original period, an application for continuing exemption should be submitted to the school principal.
- The school principal should investigate the application and recommend its acceptance or rejection. A principal should not forward an application for exemption without providing a report which includes a recommendation on the application.
- An investigation may include:
- consultation with the student’s parents;
- a wider discussion within the community; and
- the obtaining of additional information from cluster support staff.
- School social workers, according to their statement of duties, have a particular duty to investigate applications for exemption. Whenever possible, a school social worker should be required to provide a report on applications.
- The principal should explore all feasible alternatives, including the possibility of part-time enrolment.
- The principal should send to the General Manager Learning Services the parent’s application for the child’s exemption, together with his or her report and recommendation.
- The General Manager Learning Services may make any further investigation that he or she considers appropriate and will then either:
- grant the exemption, subject to any conditions; or
- refuse the application for exemption.
- When an exemption is granted, the General Manager Learning Services will forward to the child’s parents a certificate of exemption, which will clearly state the period of exemption and any conditions. A copy of the certificate will be sent to the principal.
When the school initiates an application for exemption
- A principal or member of the cluster support staff, when he or she believes it is in the best interests of a child’s education for the child to be exempted, should apply to the General Manager Learning Services , using an ‘application for exemption’ form.
- The application should be signed by the student’s parents and should be accompanied by a full report.
- The report may include evidence from:
- the student’s parents, obtained from consultation; and
- members of the cluster support staff.
- School social workers, according to their statement of duties, have a particular duty to investigate applications for exemption. Whenever possible, a school social worker should be required to provide a report on applications.
- The principal should explore all feasible alternatives, including the possibility of part-time enrolment.
- The General Manager Learning Services may make any further investigation that he or she believes to be appropriate and will then either:
- grant the exemption subject to any conditions; or
- refuse the application for exemption.
- When an exemption is granted, the General Manager Learning Services will forward to the child’s parents a certificate of exemption (form 3), which will clearly state the period of exemption and any conditions. A copy of the certificate will be sent to the principal.
- The General Managers Learning Services will maintain an exemptions data base.
When the Secretary grants an exemption
The Secretary, through the General Manager Learning Services, may grant an exemption on his or her own initiative, following whatever investigation and requests for further information he or she considers appropriate.
