The Tasmanian Association of State School Organisations has called on Education Minister Jeremy Rockliff to create a more transparent system of state school fees and levies.
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At the organisation’s annual-general meeting at Grindlewald on Saturday, the management committee put forward a motion opposing fees and levies in state schools.
Mr Rockliff said there was already a number of concessions in place supporting families on low incomes to pay for such levies.
“Students should not select their subjects/courses based on whether there are additional costs or not,” the motion read.
“Current practices by the Department of Education and its schools in setting fees, levies and other charges and imposing them upon families is not supportive of this.”
The motion called for respect and privacy around fees owing, and to allow for parents to negotiate minimum repayments on a fee payment plan.
Opposition education spokeswoman Michelle O’Byrne said the costs of some subjects could be prohibitive for low-income families who may be faced with hundreds of dollars additional fees each year to pay for sport or other subjects.
Ms O’Byrne said an elected Labor government’s policy would be to review all fees to ensure they were “fair and reasonable”.
"Labor wants to ensure the cost of public education across Tasmania is fair and not a barrier for families," Ms O'Byrne said.
"Labor would conduct a wholesale review of costs in public education, including fees.”
TASSO junior vice president Lisa Gillard said the organisation would like to see more active involvement from school associations and parents in setting school fees, rather than being informed after fees have been raised.
“Kids shouldn’t be excluded from school programs because they’re from low income families,” Ms Gillard said.
She said fees could range from a few hundred dollars to over a thousand, with each school setting their own fee costs.
Mr Rockliff said Labor’s commitment to a review was an “uncosted thought-bubble” and hypocritical.
“The system today is exactly the same as it was for 16 years under Labor, and there are already significant concessions in place which means families on low incomes do not pay levies,” he said.
