Education (Voluntary Contributions) Bill 2021

Public bill · Private Member · Introduced

The proposal would require the Education Minister to set clear rules for how schools ask parents and guardians for voluntary contributions. It would make sure families are told these payments are optional, that no child is treated differently if a payment is not made, that requests go directly to adults and not through students, and that schools cannot ask more than once a year. It would also require schools to publish how much they collect each year and how that money is spent, with the information shared publicly in a way that protects individual families’ privacy. The wider aim is to improve transparency and prevent voluntary contributions from becoming a hidden extra cost if core state funding is enough to cover schools’ basic running costs.

Formal long title

Bill entitled an Act to make provision whereby the Minister for Education shall make regulations governing the collection by schools of voluntary contributions from parents/guardians; to provide for the publication of the total monies collected annually and a detailed expenditure of those monies by schools; and for those purposes to amend the Education Act 1998.

Last updated 14 November 2024