Overview
- The government has removed the Education Act clause that required school boards to give effect to the Treaty of Waitangi.
- The Education Ministry says schools now have a legal duty to provide Māori language education only when a parent or caregiver asks for it, reverting to the pre-2020 model.
- Boards will be required to seek equitable outcomes for Māori students and to ensure school policies reflect New Zealand’s cultural diversity.
- Education Minister Erica Stanford and ACT leader David Seymour argue Treaty obligations belong to the Crown and say the change protects parental and school choice over Māori content.
- Teachers, principals, school boards, and iwi groups condemn the rollback, warning it reduces accountability for Māori language, history, and culture in classrooms, following concern over draft curricula with fewer Treaty references.