Audience
Department-wide
Purpose
This procedure outlines the steps to be taken to identify and classify a rural or remote school as a bypass school.
Overview
The Department of Education (the department) maintains a list of eligible bypass schools. A bypass school is a Queensland state school which meets a set of conditions that enable it to be disregarded when distance criteria are considered for applications for financial support under the Queensland Government's Living Away From Home Allowances Scheme (LAFHAS).
Schools that do not deliver the required range of programs in accordance with public education responsibilities for students within a year level (under section 12 of the
Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 (Qld)), can be identified as a bypass school provided they meet certain criteria.
A bypass school is then ‘bypassed’ (or disregarded) when distance criteria are applied when assessing an application for support under LAFHAS.
To be eligible for inclusion on the bypass list, schools must meet the bypass schools criteria for two consecutive years.
Responsibilities
Human Resources Branch
- Upon request from the Rural, Remote and Strategic Initiatives Branch, Schools and Student Support Division, annually produce day 8 enrolment reports.
Rural, Remote and Strategic Initiatives Branch
- Conduct annual reviews of schools eligibility.
- Consult with the Regional Human Resources Business Partner (HRBP) to provide feedback on any new/emerging school for consideration.
- Communicate approved bypass schools list to stakeholders.
Regional HR Business Partner
- Ensure consultation is carried out with impacted schools and communities.
School Principal
- Ensures Parents and Citizens’ Association (P&C) are advised of Bypass school proposal and has opportunity to provide feedback to Assistant Director-General, Rural, Remote and Strategic Initiatives via a brief to Regional HRBP.
Finance Strategy and Advice Branch
- Ensure current Bypass Schools list is in School Appropriation Payment Application (SAPA).
Process
1. Assess schools against initial eligibility
In July each year Rural, Remote and Strategic Initiatives obtain a report from Human Resources Branch reporting day 8 enrolment numbers of all Queensland state schools for the current and previous year. This report is used to assess the eligibility of:
- schools to be considered as a bypass school; and
- existing bypass schools.
Rural, Remote and Strategic Initiatives assess the student enrolment numbers for the current and previous year (i.e. two consecutive years) and determine if the school meets the initial eligibility criteria of:
- Years 7-10 enrolment is below 35 students; and/or
- Years 11-12 enrolment is below 25 students.
If the school meets the initial eligibility criteria across two consecutive years, then move to step 2.
If a current bypass school is no longer eligible, then move to step 5.
2. Assess schools against secondary eligibility criteria
If a school meets the initial eligibility requirements in step 1, the school will then be assessed by Rural, Remote and Strategic Initiatives to meet one or more of the following secondary eligibility criteria:
- students would qualify for the Living Away From Home Allowance Scheme (LAFHAS) to undertake Year 11 and 12 (that is, students attend a P-10 school and currently have no reasonable access to education services beyond Year 10 in nearby centres), and/or
- the school is in excess of 150 kilometres from the nearest other (Year 7-12) secondary school, and/or
- travel and/or distance education enrolment and/or virtual schooling enrolment are currently required to complete the senior secondary program.
The school catchment map can be used to assist in assessing the secondary criteria, to check the nearest stand-alone state high school.
3. Consultation with stakeholders
Rural, Remote and Strategic Initiatives prepares a brief for the regional HRBP in the relevant regional office about a proposed bypass school.
The regional HRBP consults with the relevant school principal.
The principal tables the proposal at the Parents and Citizens’ Association (P&C) meeting and puts forth to the regional HRBP any feedback from the P&C.
The regional HRBP approves the brief if the school endorses the bypass school proposal or provides supporting documentation to Rural, Remote and Strategic Initiatives if the proposal is not endorsed.
4. Approval of bypass status
Rural, Remote and Strategic Initiatives prepare a brief for the Assistant Director-General of Rural, Remote and Strategic Initiatives, seeking approval for the updated list of bypass schools which have met both the eligibility criteria in steps 1 and 2. Feedback from regions/schools will be provided as supporting documentation.
Rural, Remote and Strategic Initiatives provides the approved list to Finance in September each year to upload into SAPA.
Rural, Remote and Strategic Initiatives publishes the approved list of bypass schools online on 1 December each year.
5. Annual review of eligibility resulting in no longer being eligible
Schools that fail to meet eligibility criteria for two consecutive years will be considered no longer eligible and will be removed from the list.
Impacted school communities will be consulted (via principal and P&C) to identify any issues regarding the loss of bypass status.
If a school initially deemed a bypass school becomes ineligible, the Queensland Government will continue to provide LAFHAS assistance through to completion of Year 12 for individual students who had been previously accessing financial assistance under the bypassing procedure.
From 2013, if a school deemed a bypass school becomes ineligible, the department will make provisions for families of students who had been previously accessing LAFHAS financial assistance under bypass procedure to maintain eligibility for any siblings of that student, irrespective of the school’s continuing eligibility for bypass.
Definitions
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Term
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Definition
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Bypass schools
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A bypass school is a Queensland state school which meets a set of conditions that enable it to be disregarded when distance criteria are considered for applications for financial support under the Queensland Government's LAFHAS.
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Day 8 enrolment
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Final enrolment information is collected from primary, secondary and special schools on the eighth day of the school year, referred to as Day 8. The data determines primary and secondary schools’ staffing allocations.
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Living Away From Home Allowances Scheme (LAFHAS)
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Support for families in geographical isolated areas to access financial assistance to study away from home.
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Legislation
Delegations/Authorisations
Other resources
Superseded versions
Previous seven years shown. Minor version updates not included.
2.0 Bypass Schools – Financial Assistance for Eligible Rural and Remote Students (To Live Away From Home to Access Education)
3.0 Bypass Schools – Financial Assistance for Eligible Rural and Remote Students (To Live Away From Home to Access Education)
4.0 Bypass schools