Education Act 2016

The principles on which this Act is based are the following principles:the right of every child to receive an education until the child completes Year 12, the year of home education equivalent to Year 12 or an approved learning program; the right of every child, during the years of education from kindergarten to the year commonly known as Year 2, to be supported by developmentally appropriate learning frameworks that recognise the child as an active learner and support the delivery of an enquiry-based curriculum; that the State recognises the role and importance of a child's parents in the education of their child; that the State recognises that a child's parents are the first and most important educators of the child; that the State recognises – that parents have a responsibility to ensure that their child receives an education; and that the State has a responsibility to support parents in ensuring that they meet their responsibilities under this Act; the importance of a child having the opportunity, and being encouraged, to be actively involved in decisions affecting the child's participation in education, having regard to the age and understanding of the child; the importance of the State, education regulators, parents, teachers, schools, other educational institutions (including TasTAFE and the University of Tasmania) and the wider community working collaboratively to engender a commitment in all sectors in Tasmania to achieving the best educational outcomes for children; the importance of the provision by the State of universal access to education through the maintenance of a government education system; the importance of providing the foundation for lifelong learning; that the provision of education at a school recognises the individual needs of children with disabilities and, to that end, persons involved in the administration of this Act and the provision of education at a school will make appropriate, reasonable provision for those needs; that all students are entitled to education of a quality that is capable of enabling them to reach their potential and so maximise their achievements and contribution to the community.

A person performing a function, action or duty, or exercising a power, under this Act, is to have regard to the principles set out in subsection (1).

For the purposes of subsection (1)(b), a learning framework is a framework that describes the principles and practices to support and enhance learning and the outcomes to be achieved from that learning as approved from time to time by the Ministerial Council responsible for early childhood education and care in accordance with the Education and Care Services National Law (Tasmania).