A new national education law is reshaping how schools and universities work, affecting families and students on the Hibiscus Coast.

The Education and Training Amendment Act 2025, passed in November, makes raising educational achievement the top priority for every school board, with new supporting objectives around attendance and assessment.

At the same time, it removes the explicit obligation on boards to give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Instead, boards must seek equitable outcomes for Māori students, take all reasonable steps to provide teaching and learning in te reo Māori when parents or caregivers ask for it, and ensure school policies and practices reflect New Zealand’s cultural diversity.

Every school must now have an attendance plan.

Most need this in place by late January 2026, while distance schools have until July 2026.

The strike notice period has also changed, with schools required to give seven days’ warning instead of three so families have more time to plan care.

Boards do not need to produce a new long-term strategic plan in 2026.

The next plans are due in 2027, while annual plans and reports for 2025 and 2026 still go ahead.

Other changes remove the Minister’s power to issue national education and learning priorities, and tighten teacher education and Teaching Council settings, including a ministerial majority on the Council.

Universities must now publish a statement on freedom of expression, set up a complaints process for academic freedom and free speech, and report on these in their annual reports, alongside other measures intended to support the wider education system.

For Coast families, this means local schools and universities their young people attend will be working under clearer rules on achievement, attendance, strikes and free speech from 2026.

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