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

Disability discrimination complaints received by Australian Human Rights Commission on the rise

The ABC News reports that Australia's Disability Discrimination Act (Act) makes it illegal to discriminate against a person with a disability, including in educational settings. Discrimination is described as disadvantage based on either being treated without reasonable consideration of their disability or being treated unfairly in a way that is different to others without a disability. Under the Act, there are standards for education that set out the rights for all students with a disability to be included in education and provided with reasonable adjustment to help them succeed at school. Complaints can be brought to the Human Rights Commission, which investigates and mediates to find an outcome, but most agreements include a non-disclosure clause that prevents the case from being publicly discussed. In 2019-20, the Commission received 1,006 disability discrimination complaints, a 34 per cent increase from 750 complaints in 2015-16.

Chanel Contos to meet Scott Morrison to discuss sex consent education reforms

The Guardian reports that Prime Minister Scott Morrison will discuss reforms to combat rape culture with Chanel Contos, whose petition calling for earlier sex education in schools prompted hundreds of testimonies from former Sydney schoolgirls about sexual assault earlier this year. Speaking after briefing other Federal MPs last Thursday, Ms Contos said concepts such as sexual coercion are still “not understood by the wider community” although policymakers, including the curriculum authority, were now taking them seriously. Ms Contos is also petitioning the New South Wales Parliament for earlier, holistic consent education in the NSW curriculum and is just 4,000 signatures short of triggering a parliamentary debate on the proposal. Ms Contos was also heartened by a review currently being undertaken by the Australian Curriculum and Reporting Authority, which she was confident would emphasise consent at a younger age.

What does duty of care look like in 2021?

The Educator reports that a school's legal duty of care to its students is at the forefront of everything they do, with systems and procedures are put in place to ensure that duty of care obligations are met, and each student is safe and accounted for. Duty of care is a legal commitment by all school staff to protect their students from any foreseeable risks while on school property or under supervision. This duty of care is far-reaching, extending to the likes of learning needs, student safety, welfare, supervision, travel and inclusivity. The rapid shift to online learning in 2020 had many schools scrambling to re-assess the way they provide reasonable care to their students, with the focus on student wellbeing shifting more from physical to mental. Even with classrooms empty, schools still have a duty of care to uphold and should have solid procedures in place to ensure students feel supported to reduce stress, anxiety and feelings of being “left behind”. With new technology making duty of care easier, it is important to remember that your school is also responsible for keeping this tech safe.

International student programs “at risk” as enrolments slump

The Age reports that international student enrolments at Victorian schools have fallen more than 30 per cent this year, amid warnings that schools will disband their international programs if Australia’s border remains closed for much longer. Close to 4900 international students were enrolled in Victorian schools at the start of this year, compared with about 6950 a year prior. Tracey O’Halloran is the managing director of Australian Education Assessment Services (AEAS), which helps schools market themselves overseas and conducts tests of international students. AEAS has been working with dozens of private schools on proposals to bring back international students, including flying them in on charter flights from low-COVID places such as Singapore. But with the Federal budget warning Australia’s borders will probably remain closed until the second half of 2022, Ms O’Halloran said international student programs would have to close.

Children, teens and COVID vaccines: where is the evidence at, and when will kids in Australia be eligible?

According to an article in The Conversation, adolescents in North America are beginning to roll up their sleeves for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine after it was approved for 12-15-year-olds this month. The Canadian drug and therapeutic regulator Health Canada approved Pfizer-BioNTech’s mRNA vaccine for children aged 12-15 on May 5, and the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded its emergency use authorisation to include this age group the week before last. The European Medicines Agency is reviewing similar applications. COVID vaccines are currently not registered for use in children younger than 16 in Australia, but this prospect is getting closer. Research has demonstrated the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is effective and well-tolerated in adolescents. Research into younger children is ongoing. Access to a safe and effective vaccine for children and adolescents will be important in enhancing community immunity and reducing the overall impact of the global pandemic.

“Ignorance and xenophobia”: NSW school dagger ban sparks international furore

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that NSW’s ban on Sikh students taking their ceremonial dagger into public schools has sparked an international furore and the Sikh Parliament is calling on India’s External Affairs Minister and High Commissioner to intervene. The ban has also made news among big Sikh communities in the United Kingdom and Canada, which warned it would lead to xenophobia. NSW put a temporary ban on the kirpan - a small dagger carried by baptised Sikhs to symbolise their duty to protect the innocent - after a 14-year-old boy used one to stab a 16-year-old at Glenwood High School in Sydney’s north-west two weeks ago. Sikh organisations say the State Government had been working with them to find a compromise solution until the story hit the media last Monday. They were told of the ban — which only applies to public schools — that afternoon. Under NSW law, it is legal to carry knives to school for religious and food preparation reasons, but the Government is reviewing that law.

Revealed: Suburbs where state schools come out on top

The Courier-Mail reports that a Sunday Mail analysis of primary school NAPLAN results in the past five years has revealed the Brisbane pockets where the local state school’s Queensland ranking has topped the Catholic school’s. Since 2015 state schools in multiple suburbs including Indooroopilly, Annerley, Yeronga, Newmarket, Geebung, Albany Creek, Wishart, Graceville, Nundah and Ashgrove have outperformed their Catholic primary counterparts. But the situation was reversed in other suburbs, and beyond Brisbane. Catholic primary schools in New Farm, Kangaroo Point, Cannon Hill, Camp Hill, Tarragindi and Coorparoo all scored higher in NAPLAN results than their state school equivalent. Of four major suburbs analysed on the Gold Coast, the Catholic school came out on top each time, and it was a similar story in major regional hubs. But while NAPLAN results are a key factor, parents and experts have told the Sunday Mail there are other crucial elements to be considered.

Free school lunch trial gets five-star reviews from parents, students and teachers

The ABC News reports that a trial to swap lunch boxes for hot, sit-down meals at Tasmanian schools found more than 90 per cent of parents were in favour of the move. The Tasmanian School Canteen Association conducted the trial at three schools in term 4 last year, with more than 200 students given a two-course meal for 20 days. It found that, while there were costly challenges to a statewide roll-out, there were marked improvements in terms of attendance and behaviour. Last month, the Liberal Party pledged to increase the trial to 30 schools across the state if elected. Senior researcher at the Menzies Institute for Medical Research, Kylie Smith, was asked to write a report on the trial, interviewing teachers, principals, canteen managers, parents and students. She said, following the trial, parents from the three schools were overwhelmingly in favour of their children being given lunch, saying it improved the palates of even the fussiest little eaters. Expressions of interest for the first 15 schools are set to go out in the first 100 days of the new Liberal government, with the new trial to start next year.

INTERNATIONAL

No 10 “tried to block” data on spread of new COVID variant in English schools (United Kingdom)

The Guardian reports that Downing Street leaned on Public Health England (PHE) not to publish crucial data on the spread of the new COVID variant in schools, documents seen by the Observer have suggested. Scientists, union officials and teachers said that the lack of transparency was “deeply worrying”. The focus of their anger concerns the pre-print of a PHE report that included a page of data on the spread of the India COVID-19 variant in schools. But when the report was published on Thursday 13 May, the page had been removed. It was the only one that had been removed from the pre-print. Days later, the government went ahead with its decision to remove the mandate on face coverings in English schools. Evidence seen by the Observer suggests No 10 was directly involved in the decision not to publish it. The Prime Minister’s office acknowledged it was in correspondence with PHE officials about presentation of the data but vigorously denied this constituted “interference” or “pressure”.

Nearly a dozen states want to ban critical race theory in schools (United States)

CBS News reports that earlier this month, Idaho Governor Brad Little became the first Republican governor to sign into law a bill that restricts educators from teaching a concept called critical race theory. And more could follow: Nearly a dozen states have introduced similar Republican-backed bills that would direct what students can and cannot be taught about the role of slavery in American history and the ongoing effects of racism in the US today. Idaho's law prohibits educators from teaching "individuals, by virtue of sex, race, ethnicity, religion, colour, or national origin, are inherently responsible for actions committed in the past by other members of the same sex, race, ethnicity, religion, colour, or national origin." However, proponents of critical race theory say it does not teach that any race is inherently racist or is superior, but how race is ingrained in our history. Critical race theory is not typically "taught in elementary and secondary schools because it is based in legal theory," Jazmyne Owens, of public policy think tank New America, told CBS News. She said the wave of legislation "is really aimed at erasing and whitewashing American history."