Australian Capital Territory Consolidated Acts

EDUCATION ACT 2004 - SECT 20B

    (1)     An assessment under section 20 (5) (b) must include information about the following educational, economic, environmental and social impacts in relation to closing or amalgamating a school:

        (a)     the following educational impacts:

              (i)     the range, quality and depth of education programs;

              (ii)     the age and condition of school infrastructure, facilities and resources;

              (iii)     teaching resources and workloads;

              (iv)     social and learning environment for children;

              (v)     extracurricular activities;

              (vi)     parent participation in school;

              (vii)     out-of-hours school programs;

              (viii)     findings of research studies on school size;

              (ix)     student literacy and numeracy outcomes;

              (x)     other educational outcomes;

              (xi)     student outcomes, especially those of parents who have a low income, are Indigenous or from a non-English speaking background or with disabilities;

              (xii)     access to public education;

              (xiii)     school enrolments;

        (b)     the following economic impacts:

              (i)     recurrent and capital savings and costs, including one-off savings and costs, of closing or amalgamating the school for the Territory, including—

    (A)     staffing and resources; and

    (B)     school bus transport; and

    (C)     traffic and safety arrangements; and

    (D)     building maintenance and security;

              (ii)     financial impact on parents, including transport and travel time;

              (iii)     financial impact on local business including ongoing viability;

              (iv)     a comparison of the cost, per student, to operate the school with the cost, per student, to operate other ACT government schools and average cost across all ACT government schools;

        (c)     the following environmental impacts:

              (i)     traffic congestion;

              (ii)     air pollution;

              (iii)     greenhouse gas emissions;

              (iv)     noise levels;

              (v)     open green space adjacent to the school site;

        (d)     the following social impacts:

              (i)     demographic projections of parents with school-age children, including taking into account expected land releases;

              (ii)     implications for parents who have a low income, are Indigenous or from a non-English speaking background or of students with disabilities;

              (iii)     safety of children walking or cycling to school;

              (iv)     neighbourhood community facilities;

              (v)     access to recreational and leisure facilities;

              (vi)     provision of government services;

              (vii)     community support networks;

              (viii)     local employment;

              (ix)     heritage values of school buildings.

    (2)     An assessment may include information about any other impacts in relation to closing or amalgamating the school.