New Parent Contribution Guidelines Spark Concerns for Victorian Schools

Victorian public schools are bracing for the impact of new advice on parent contributions, with concerns that it will leave them financially strained. The Department of Education has issued a directive stating that all curriculum-based instruction and resources, including textbooks, must be provided free of charge.

A template letter, seen by our publication, informs parents that "Victorian government schools provide free instruction. This means all students have free access to all items, activities and services that schools use to deliver the curriculum, including reasonable adjustments to support students with disability." The letter emphasizes that there is "no expectation or pressure for families to contribute" voluntarily.

The Australian Principals Federation president, Andrew Cock, believes that this new advice will result in fewer parents making voluntary contributions. Many principals, preparing for next year, had already sent out letters requesting parent contributions, and Mr. Cock said that this change has caused "a great deal of angst and consternation."

While schools will continue to support families without the means to make contributions, Mr. Cock warned that they rely heavily on these extra payments. "If there's less money available in schools, then principals are going to be forced to consider what are the programs, resources, experiences that they can afford," he said. "Ultimately they are going to have to make cuts."

Education Minister Gabrielle Williams defended the guidance, stating that access to public schools has "always been free" under Labor. "With the cost of living hitting families extra hard right now, the Parent Contributions policy was updated to make it absolutely clear that school contributions are voluntary," she said in a statement.

Ms. Williams also highlighted that the government is offering additional support to families, including dental and eye checks, breakfasts, uniforms, and period products. While schools can still request voluntary contributions for certain items or activities, such as learning resources for home use or sports carnivals, they will no longer be able to rent out devices to students.

From next year, schools will be required to provide children with free access to devices when needed to fulfill curriculum requirements. Mr. Cock acknowledged that this will pose challenges for some schools, stating that "that's going to add some additional conversations in schools about how we provide digital learning to our students." He also noted that this change will highlight the funding gap and underfunding of Victorian government schools, with parents traditionally helping to fill this gap.