The information in the Weekly Wrap is aggregated from other news sources to provide you with news that is relevant to the education sector across Australia and worldwide. Each paragraph is a summary of the subject matter covered in the particular news article. The information does not necessarily reflect the views of CompliSpace.

AUSTRALIA

Catholic School Parents Australia survey: Class disruption “causing learning decline”

According to The West Australian, nearly 60 per cent of Catholic school parents believe that increasing disruptive behaviour in their children’s classrooms is causing a decline in their learning, a survey has revealed. About 62 per cent of more than 1200 respondents attributed the problem to an overall lack of respect for teachers, while 64 per cent believed that the main contributor was the number of students with diverse learning needs. The concerns were revealed in a submission to a national inquiry into the issue of increasing classroom disruption by Catholic School Parents Australia. Hearings for the Senate committee inquiry started last week. The survey, conducted in March, found that 57 per cent of parents agreed that student learning was affected by disruptive behaviour. About 18 per cent were not sure and 24 per cent felt that their child’s learning was affected.

If ChatGPT wrote it, who owns the copyright? It depends on where you live, but in Australia it’s complicated

According to The Conversation, putting aside ethical and moral issues regarding academic integrity, there are many copyright implications surrounding LLMs (AI models that can generate natural language texts from large amounts of data). Under Australian law, because the output is computer-generated code/text, it may be classified as a literary work for copyright purposes. However, for you to own copyright in ChatGPT output as a literary work, requirements known as “subsistence criteria” must also be satisfied. To determine potential copyright in ChatGPT output, a court would examine the underlying processes of creation in detail. The court would likely find that the output is produced by the AI. Also, the output is unlikely to adequately express a person’s “independent intellectual effort” (another subsistence criterion) because AI produces it. For these reasons, it’s likely that copyright would not come into effect on ChatGPT output as a literary work produced in Australia.

A new report proposes full public funding for private schools, but there’s a catch

According to The Conversation, in an ambitious new report for education initiative Australian Learning Lecture, authors Tom Greenwell and Chris Bonnor propose full public funding for all non-government schools, within a commonly agreed regulatory framework. Non-government schools “could continue to apply enrolment and other policies necessary to promote their specific religious or educational ethos.” However, schools that “continue to charge fees or reject inclusive enrolment obligations would no longer receive any public funding.” As the article notes, a national common framework would have substantial barriers to overcome. The multiple sectors of education governance in Australia (state/territory, Catholic, independent), and the multiple legal instruments that govern them, make this very difficult, even from a practical perspective.

“Asking For It” is diving deep into Australia's consent crisis

According to marie claire, the conversation around sexual violence might have evolved since the Me Too movement but it hasn’t changed enough. Every day, 85 sexual assaults are reported in Australia. What’s even worse is that 90 per cent of rapes go unreported and just 1.5 per cent of cases result in a conviction. It’s clear that something needs to change – and journalist and author Jess Hill thinks that that’s consent education. In her new three part doco-series Asking For It, Jess reveals the reality of sex, consent and power in Australia. After previously exploring domestic abuse in her book and documentary See What You Made Me Do, Jess dives headfirst into the sexual assaults happening everywhere from our schools to our aged care homes. Jess believes that teaching consent education to children will not only keep them safe when they’re young but throughout their entire lives.

Can a teacher smack a student at school in NSW?

According to Mondaq, a NSW teacher will be facing court for a second time after the dismissal of her charges for common assault and assault occasioning actual bodily harm over a shove to a student were overturned on appeal. Emma Tiller's case at a contested hearing was that she was acting in defence of another at the time she smacked the complainant, because she thought that the complainant was putting his penis near another child’s face. As well as self defence or defence of another (s 418 of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW)(“Crimes Act”)), section 61AA of the Crimes Act provides a defence of lawful correction. This defence was not open to Ms Tiller as she did not have consent from the complainant's parent to use physical force. Other defences that may be available if a teacher uses physical force against a student include automatism, necessity and duress.

Victorian schools: Teacher shortages lead to crisis point around the State

According to the Herald Sun, Victorian teachers are experiencing “extreme stress” and burnout amid chronic staff shortages and many are resigning or taking leave. Data from the Australian Education Union’s Victorian branch shows that state school principals, teachers and support staff face unsustainable workloads, which is having a dire impact. Of the 430 teachers and principals across Victoria recently surveyed, 76 per cent said that the additional workloads caused by staff shortages were unsustainable. More than 73 per cent said that this was leading to burnout, while 63 per cent said that their increased workloads were likely to cause colleagues to leave the profession early. Many principals and staff have to recruit over the school holidays, and teachers are taking on additional work and responsibilities during holidays, the survey found.

Victoria to lift age of criminal responsibility to 12

According to 9news.com.au, Victoria is set to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12, under plans agreed on by state ministers, with the possibility to raise the age to 14 by 2027. But the change has since been slammed by medical authorities, legal experts and Indigenous organisations, who say that the move to 12 doesn't go far enough. Lifting the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14 is a "vital measure" needed to protect the health and wellbeing of children, according to Australia's medical colleges. The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) said that the move to only raise it to 12 was "deeply concerning". "Children under 14 years may not have the level of maturity and cognitive function to be considered criminally responsible," RACP president and paediatrician Dr Jacqueline Small said. A parliamentary inquiry handed down in 2022 recommended that the minimum age of criminal responsibility be raised to 14 in Victoria without exception.

What are the rules around mobile phones in schools, and could Queensland bring about a blanket ban?

ABC News reports that last week, Education Minister Grace Grace tasked former children's commissioner Cheryl Vardon with leading a review into technology use, including phones and smart watches, in schools. It's due at the end of June. Currently, in Queensland it's up to each school to decide what they want to do. The Government is now surveying state schools on their current phone policies. "Many schools have taken the decision to ban mobile phones, and they have been fully supported to do so," Ms Grace told Parliament recently. Jon Rouse, a Monash University professor and former head of child exploitation task force ARGOS, said that a phone ban could also make kids safer. Queensland Teachers’ Union President Cresta Richardson said that most students did the "right thing" with their phones at school. "Our teachers are experts at supporting kids to use the devices appropriately," she said.

Teacher in strife over claims he swore in class, hit desk with ruler

According to The Courier Mail, a Queensland teacher who was moved to a new school after physically grabbing a student running through his classroom with a chisel has been vindicated by findings that his intervention was appropriate. But teacher Neil Kendrick still faces disciplinary action and possible termination over allegations that he slammed a stick or ruler on a student’s desk and used inappropriate language at school. In a recent decision, Commissioner Samantha Pidgeon found in favour of Mr Kendrick on one allegation, saying that his actions in physically grabbing a student to stop him running through an industrial technology classroom while holding a chisel had been reasonable. But Ms Pidgeon upheld the Department’s finding that a separate incident days later on 12 November 2019 warranted disciplinary action. On that occasion, Mr Kendrick was alleged to have slammed a stick or ruler on a desk to get the attention of a rowdy class, possibly causing it to split or break.

Perth man charged with indecently filming children near schools in alleged “upskirting” incidents

ABC News reports that two schools in Perth's western suburbs have issued a warning to parents after a man allegedly took photos up the skirts of girls near schools and train stations. Emails sent to parents said that a person had been arrested and charged for the offence known as "upskirting". In one email, the school principal said that they would personally contact the parents of the students identified by WA police and provide them with support. They said that police have assured the school that the material in question had been "contained". Adam Simon McGovern was arrested and charged with a dozen counts of indecently recording a child under the age of 16. He was also accused of 27 counts of committing an indecent act in public and one count of possessing child exploitation material. Magistrate Brian Gluestein granted bail on the condition that Mr McGovern would not go within 50 metres of any education facility, public sporting ground or train station.

Alice Springs school bus stolen by students, lessons in handcuffs

According to The Australian, an Alice Springs school principal has revealed the extent of the crisis engulfing Indigenous children in central Australia, detailing incidents where children are sometimes returned to school in handcuffs or wearing ankle bracelets and one in which a 12-year-old and his mates led teachers on a wild pursuit through the town in a stolen minibus. Yipirinya School principal Gavin Morris has come forward with a desperate plea to help students like his who are “in absolute crisis”. He said that staff routinely had to contact magistrates to have bail conditions varied for children as young as 12 so that they could participate in after-school programs, but added that his students saw the school as “a place of culture” and “a place where they want to be.” Mr Morris said that schools needed to begin dealing with underlying trauma before traditional schooling such as literacy and numeracy.

INTERNATIONAL

School blasted for “highly vile” licking game between staff and students (United States of America)

According to news.com.au, a US school hosted a licking competition between students and staff, which prompted outcry from parents over the “horrifying” and “highly vile” game. In a video recorded by appalled students at Desert Hills Middle School in Kennewick, Washington State, minor students and adult teachers are shown licking marshmallow cream off either side of two clear plexiglass panes at the same time during a competition at a school pep rally on 31 March, Fox News reports. In the US, students attending middle school, or junior high, are aged from 11 to 13. The district’s superintendent, Dr Traci Pierce, issued a statement to the school’s families some two weeks after the event occurred, announcing that the district had concluded its investigation into the situation that she described as “not an appropriate activity.”

“The dogs will kill a human”: Alarming text after school goes into lockdown (United Kingdom)

According to 9news.com.au, a primary school in the UK was put into lockdown recently after two dogs attacked six people nearby. The six were hospitalised after being attacked outside Barford Primary School. None of the injuries are believed to be life-threatening. Students were due to leave for the day, but were instead kept in the school hall until the dogs were contained. Parents on their way to school pick-up were sent an alarming text message from the school. "We have just been informed by the police that there are two potentially very dangerous dogs circling the school," the message read. "For your own safety please stay in your cars, we will text/email as soon as we can release your children. The likelihood is that the dogs will kill a human and the police are trying to make the situation safe." Pupils were allowed to leave the school just before 4pm. Police seized the dogs and arrested their owner.

Florida expands “Don’t Say Gay” education ban to all grades (United States of America)

According to Aljazeera, the Florida Board of Education has approved a ban on classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in all grades, expanding the law that critics call “Don’t Say Gay” at the request of Governor Ron DeSantis as he gears up for an expected presidential run in the United States. The proposal will take effect after a procedural notice period that lasts about a month, according to an education department spokesman. The rule change would ban lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity from Grades 4 to 12, unless required by existing state standards or as part of reproductive health instruction that students can choose not to take. Florida currently bans such lessons from kindergarten to Grade 3.