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Can my school refuse to provide reports or certificates?
This depends what money hasn’t been paid and also what your school is refusing to give you. Remember that most of what is called “fees” is actually a donation to your school, if it is a state or integrated school. Donations can’t be debts; but charges for non-curriculum activities, for example, can be (see “What is a fee and what’s a donation?”).
State and integrated schools must report on your progress. The law does not say how often this should be, although the Ministry of Education says it should be at least twice a year. Therefore you are legally allowed at least two school reports each year. Some schools say extra reports are a ‘benefit’ offered by the school, rather than something they legally have to give you. A judge hasn’t decided this in court, so we don’t know whether this is true.
It is probably not very good practice for state and integrated schools to try to force you or your caregivers into paying debts (and especially donations) by not letting you have school reports. If your family does owe money to your school (for an extra-curricular activity, for example), the school may take a legal case against you or your caregivers to try to get the money back. This might be better than your school trying to sort it out by withholding something that a judge may later decide students should receive.
Leaving forms are a little different. They have an administrative role for schools. They usually show you have returned all your library books, have paid any money owing and have been taken off the school roll. Therefore a leaving form may not be an essential part of your education, so it is possible the school could refuse to give you one if your parents do owe it money (but not if a donation is unpaid). If there is a disagreement between your family and the principal about this, your parents can ask the Ministry of Education to call the principal to talk about it (see “What if I need more help?” at the end of this information sheet).
If you go to a private school and have not paid your fees, what you are allowed to receive when you leave depends on the contract between your parents and the school. However, it is likely that you would not be entitled to a school report or leaving form if your parents had not paid money they owed to the school, unless they could show that the law required the school to provide these things.
State and integrated schools must report on your progress. The law does not say how often this should be, although the Ministry of Education says it should be at least twice a year. Therefore you are legally allowed at least two school reports each year. Some schools say extra reports are a ‘benefit’ offered by the school, rather than something they legally have to give you. A judge hasn’t decided this in court, so we don’t know whether this is true.
It is probably not very good practice for state and integrated schools to try to force you or your caregivers into paying debts (and especially donations) by not letting you have school reports. If your family does owe money to your school (for an extra-curricular activity, for example), the school may take a legal case against you or your caregivers to try to get the money back. This might be better than your school trying to sort it out by withholding something that a judge may later decide students should receive.
Leaving forms are a little different. They have an administrative role for schools. They usually show you have returned all your library books, have paid any money owing and have been taken off the school roll. Therefore a leaving form may not be an essential part of your education, so it is possible the school could refuse to give you one if your parents do owe it money (but not if a donation is unpaid). If there is a disagreement between your family and the principal about this, your parents can ask the Ministry of Education to call the principal to talk about it (see “What if I need more help?” at the end of this information sheet).
If you go to a private school and have not paid your fees, what you are allowed to receive when you leave depends on the contract between your parents and the school. However, it is likely that you would not be entitled to a school report or leaving form if your parents had not paid money they owed to the school, unless they could show that the law required the school to provide these things.
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Latest page update: made by YouthLaw
, Aug 13 2009, 10:13 PM EDT
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