Local homeschooling advocates Amanda Bartle and Patricia Fitzgerald, along with at least one local private school, will be pitching their philosophies to families at this week’s ‘Education Fair’.
The free event will be held at the Nissan Arena in Nathan this Saturday (31 May), featuring displays, demonstrations and representatives from dozens of schools from across the region.
Among all those schools will be Ms Bartle and Ms Fitzgerald, two Logan mothers and home educators who successfully petitioned the state government to reform what they called “oversight that went wrong”.
“We will have copies of our supporting resource guide that helps shape the homeschool community’s understanding of their regulatory requirements and will be discussing topics such as the progress of the current Bill and any guidance on tailoring an individual education as well as pathway opportunities currently available or those we hope to see available soon for some,” Ms Fitzgerald said.
Both local parents have since 2022 pushed for the government to amend existing regulation that prevents 18-year-olds from finishing high school.
“Currently, only half the cohort gets to do Year 12 and the other half actually get kicked off at the end of grade 11,” Ms Fitzgerald said.
“When they introduced Prep, it moved everyone up by six months so any child born in the second half of the year automatically gets kicked off homeschool at Year 12.
“They just completely forgot to amend the homeschool legislation.”
Both Ms Bartle and Ms Fitzgerald’s children were unable to complete Year 12 through home education.
The current government has drafted a new bill that includes an age eligibility extension to 31 December in the year the student turns 18 and six months.
The Education, Arts and Communities Committee recommended the Bill be passed.
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