Catholic parents group take court challenge against Education Act

A PARENTS group is to take a court challenge against the Education Act, because they claim it does not support their role as the main educators of children.

The main concern of the National Congress of Catholic Secondary Schools Parent Associations (CSPA) is over parental representation on consultation bodies for curriculum and other education issues.

The Constitution sets out that the family is the primary and natural educator of the child. The CSPA annual conference will tonight consider seeking legal opinion as to whether the Education Act 1998 is constitutional and supports the constitutional rights of parents.

CSPA spokesperson Barbara Johnston said the largest denial of those rights has been the establishment of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA). The council was set up under the Education Act 1998 and its membership is determined by the minister for education.

“Parents were told they had one seat on NCCA at primary level and one at post-primary. These two people are supposed to represent the entire population of primary educators,” said Ms Johnston. This argument has been countered by the fact that each of the school management bodies and each of the teacher unions has only one seat each, but CSPA disagrees.

“Until management bodies and teacher unions have been given the same rights as parents within the Constitution, such comparison shows a lack of commitment to protecting the constitutional rights of parents,” Ms Johnston said.

The National Parents Council (post-primary) is the representative body for parents on NCCA and other such bodies, but is an umbrella group for four other associations. CSPA withdrew from the council last November, because they felt their views were being diluted with those of other parent organisations.

“We find ourselves in a position where curriculums are being put into schools and we have no hand in it. It’s like the county council building a road and asking people afterwards what they think of it, that’s the position parents find themselves in,” she said.

CSPA represents parents at around 300 of the country’s 750 second level schools and has been vocal in the past on issues such as teaching of Irish, sex education and religion.

They have made a strong case for representation and funding in a recent submission to a review of State financial support and recognition of parent organisations at second level. The review was set up by Education Minister Noel Dempsey and is being carried out by former assistant secretary of the Department of Education Jack O’Brien.