The Fourth R - keeping religion in Queensland State schools within the Law

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If you have not provided a religion on your child's enrolment form (over 80% of Qld parents), by law, your child must not be placed in religious instruction without your signed authority. Your child must be placed in a separate location during religious instruction. Also, by law, Religious Instruction is strictly prohibited for all children in Prep year.

Please report any abuse of the Education Act to spel@secularpubliceducation.com

Chapter 5 of the 1875 Queensland Education Act

The above clause has been directly copied from the 1875 Queensland Education Act.
In 1910, to grant Education Queensland staff teachers the legal right to—as part of the curriculum—give Bible lessons to Queensland State school children, the five instances of the word “secular” within the 1875 Act were expunged.
Not only was ‘secular’ deleted from the above clause—the entire clause was removed—never to return.
The ramifications and effects of its absence are staggeringly obvious within the pages of this website.
Until this clause is restored to its original place within the Queensland Education Act, no child can be guaranteed his or her basic human right to freedom from religion.

On April 13th 1910, a controversial referendum (strongly opposed by the then minority Roman Catholic church) was conducted in Queensland. It's important to note that while now bearing scant resemblance to it, every current manifestation of religious intrusion into Queensland state schools, when challenged, always claims statutory sanction via 'the referendum'. It doesn't.

The 1910 YES/NO was worded:

Are you in favour of introducing the following system into State Schools, namely:

The State Schoolmaster, in school hours, teaches selected Bible lessons from a reading book provided for the purpose, but is not allowed to give sectarian teaching:

Any minister of religion is entitled, in school hours, to give the children of his own denomination an hour's religious instruction on such day or days as the school committee can arrange for:

Any parent is entitled to withdraw his child from all religious teaching if he chooses to do so?

YES

The results were.. Yes: 74,228. No: 56,681. Informal: 7,651. Wording reflecting the above outcome, including the reading of 'selected Bible lessons' by state employed class teachers, remains in the Queensland Education (General Provisions) Act and Regulation to this day. In fact, Bible Lessons by Education Queensland staff teachers includes a comprehensive state authored curriculum covering school Year 1 to Year 7.

Chaplaincy

The word ‘chaplain’ or any reference to ‘chaplaincy’ does not appear anywhere within Queensland Education law. However, state school chaplaincy is inextricably intertwined with 1910 legislated Religious Instruction (RI).

This includes all chaplaincy arrangements throughout Queensland funded by the National School Chaplaincy Program (NSCP).

Procrastination by the State

The 1989 Education Act provided the legal basis for the appointment of Chaplains in Queensland state schools. In this Act, school chaplaincy was permitted as an approved religious activity that takes place in a state school. The Education (General Provisions) Act, 1989, section 30, and its accompanying regulations (Part IV), made provisions for RE [sic] in terms of “right of entry” instruction by denominational representatives, selected Bible lessons by class teachers in primary and special schools, and alternative instruction for students withdrawn from these activities. These provisions were, in essence, the same as in the State Education Acts (Amendment Act) of 1910. The Department of Education Manual outlined policy and procedures for the implementation of the 1989 provisions as well as “other activities related to religion that may take place in state schools”. These other activities included school chaplaincy.

Salecich, J., 2001. Chaplaincy in Queensland State Schools: An Investigation.
Thesis, (PHD). University of Queensland