The Education Minister says she has received the letter sent to her by the Cross Party Rainbow Parliamentary Network regarding the implementation of LGBTI student safety and wellbeing as a National Evaluation Topic. Education Minister Hekia Parata. Photo / Mark Mitchell The Co-conveners of the Cross Party Rainbow Parliamentary Network; Labour MP Louisa Wall, Green MP Jan Logie and National MP Paul Foster-Bell, sent this letter to the Education Minister and outlined the urgency of this issue but have yet to receive a reply. Schools are assessed on National Evaluation Topics by the Education Review Office (ERO) and the cross party group have proposed ‘Ensuring the safety and wellbeing of queer secondary school students’ as a topic for 2017. GayNZ.com asked Education Minister Hekia Parata whether she would be considering making this topic a recommendation and whether or not schools are required to have a specific policy regarding LGBTI student safety and wellbeing. Responding to these questions and to why LGBTI student safety and wellbeing has not been implemented as a National Evaluation Topic before and why it is not automatically assessed, the Minister says “All students have the right to feel safe, accepted and valued at school and the Government works hard to support schools to create safe and inclusive environments. “I have received a letter from the Cross Party Rainbow Parliamentary Network and will take its points into consideration.”
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 29th July 2016 - 4:54pm