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High levels of concern within the homeschooling community have forced the Government to pause legislation introducing “draconian” regulations. The Education and Training (System Reform) Amendment Bill had been set for its third reading in the House today before being passed into law. The bill was intended to clarify responsibilities within the education sector and update regulatory settings. However, today’s schedule for the House’s proceedings had no mention of the bill’s third reading, indicating it had been delayed. It’s understood New Zealand First and Education Minister Erica Stanford had late-night meetings yesterday to discuss the amendment’s potential impact and how to address concerns. This followed an amendment relating to homeschooling regulations – added after the bill went through public submissions – caused significant concern within the community, leading to hundreds of emails being sent to MPs. The amendment would have required people wishing to homeschool children to have an exemption from enrolment at a registered school. A crowd of about 60 people gathered on Parliament’s lawn today to show their opposition to the amendment. NZ First leader Winston Peters meeting with people concerned about an amendment relating to homeschooling. Photo / Adam Pearse NZ First leader Winston Peters went out to meet them. It’s understood Stanford was expected to join him to address the bill’s future but didn’t appear until after Peters had returned inside . Peters, apologising for having to leave, told those gathered he had received extensive feedback about the issue and congratulated them. Stanford confirmed the amendment would be scrapped in a statement today, claiming the Government had “listened to feedback” from the homeschool sector. “The Ministry of Education and the Education Review Office advised, in late 2025 and early 2026, that regulation was required to ensure children educated at home received adequate levels of education, as a result we moved quickly to introduce legislation to provide appropriate checks,” she said. “However, feedback from stakeholders, MPs, coalition partners and those in the education sector show the issue is more complicated than first thought and we will take the time to get this right.” The bill would be referred back to the Committee of the Whole to remove the amendment. Act was quick to claim credit, saying the decision to scrap the amendment was a “major victory” after Act MP Laura McClure had written to Stanford. McClure had warned Stanford the amendment “risked treating good parents with suspicion and imposing unreasonable compliance burdens”. “Draconian new restrictions on homeschooling were a mistake, rushed into law at the last minute,” Act leader David Seymour said. “This is a victory for democracy, showing that people can be heard by politicians and change can result. “It is also a victory for educational freedom, the simple idea that you own your life and can choose your pathway, rather than being a character and a play written by others.” Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald’s Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for NZME since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland.
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