DETAILS of the composition and function of the proposed education boards will be set out in detail in the new Education Bill, to be published by the Department of Education today.
The Bill is the second major piece of legislation to be published by the Department in six months, following the publication of the Universities Bill during the summer. It will provide a statutory basis for educational decisions so that issues such as changes in the curriculum or the school year will now have to go before the Oireachtas. Previously, such matters would usually have been dealt with by ministerial circular.
The Bill will also place a legal onus on schools to set up boards of management and parents' associations, as well as establishing a grievance procedure for dealing with complaints by parents and pupils on issues such as suspensions and expulsions.
Essentially, the Education Bill consists of two parts, the first dealing with schools and the second with the education boards.
The substance of the Bill has emerged over years of preparation and debate, beginning with the publication of the Green Paper by a former minister for education, Ms Mary O'Rourke, followed by the current Minister's White Paper and the work of the National Education Convention.
The 10 education boards, which will be established at Government level, will have responsibility for the educational providers in their area, including adult, community and vocational education structures. The boards will also give formal recognition to schools, without which no public funds' will be made available to a school.
They will also have the power to freeze funding for schools which do not establish boards of management. Representatives of parents, teachers and local authorities will all have statutory membership of the proposed boards.
A sub committee of each board, including a legal representative, will also deal with complaints from parents or pupils over 16 which cannot be dealt with at school level.
The published Bill is far less prescriptive than earlier drafts. In particular, the proposal to allow a religious veto over teacher appointments where such appointments could prejudice the ethos of the school has been dropped. This section had been opposed by the teachers' unions and Democratic Left, among others.
It would also have been difficult to implement, given that appointment procedures vary in schools.
The published Bill will now recognise existing procedures while allowing for change by agreement with school owners.