14 Dec 2016, 16:58
14 December 2016
The Joint Committee on Education and Skills will tomorrow meet to consider the principles of the Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016. The Committee will hear from representatives of Atheist Ireland, Evangelical Alliance Ireland, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Ireland, Gaeloideachas, Education Equality, Educate Together, the Catholic Primary Schools Management Association, the Education and Training Boards Ireland, the Church of Ireland, EQUATE and the National Association of Boards of Management in Special Education (NABMSE).
The meeting will commence at 2.30pm in Committee Room 3 tomorrow, Thursday, 15 December 2016.
Committee Chairperson, Fiona O’Loughlin TD, said “Before this Bill is taken at Committee Stage, we welcome the opportunity to hear from a number of representative groups that will be directly affected by this piece of legislation, should it be enacted. This is an important piece of legislation that aims to oblige schools to prepare and publish an admission policy containing a statement that they shall not discriminate on nine specific grounds.”
“These grounds include gender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, disability, race, membership of the Traveller community and the special educational needs of the student. Furthermore, the Bill provides that where a child is unable to secure a school place, the NCSE or Tusla will have the power to designate one. We very much welcome tomorrow’s engagement.”
Committee proceedings can be viewed live here.
Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the move, through the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.
Ends