Mother fights expulsion, claiming Mildura Catholic school ‘punishing her over religious views’
A mother claims her 10-year-old daughter was expelled from her northwest Victorian Catholic school over her own ‘religious and political views’ after she raised concerns about parts of the curriculum relating to gender and the body.
A mother claims her 10-year-old daughter was expelled from her northwest Victorian Catholic school over her own “religious and political views” after she raised concerns about parts of the curriculum relating to gender and the body, and the appropriateness of what she called “LGBTQI-themed books” in the school library.
Sacred Heart Primary School in Mildura denies this, saying there was an “irretrievable breakdown” of the mother’s relationship with the school, a “psychosocial risk” to staff members, and that her daughter’s ongoing enrolment was no longer “in her best interests, or tenable”.
Narelle, who did not want to use her surname for the privacy of her daughter, made an application to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal late last year alleging unlawful discrimination against her daughter. She also lodged an injunction in case the local diocese attempted to terminate her daughter’s enrolment.
She claimed in her application to VCAT that she “disagreed with a number of (the school’s) religious and political views and complained to them”, and that the Diocese of Ballarat Catholic Education are “punishing my daughter in a cruel manner to punish me”.
She also argued that the school had “no grounds to expel a student based on parents’ actions”.
Narelle intends to fight the official decision after the Diocese of Ballarat Catholic Education notified her last week her daughter would not be able to continue at the school after Semester 1.
In a document sent to the tribunal in December, Narelle said she raised concerns about “the lack of consideration for Catholic teachings in implementing” the Acknowledgement of Country in school assemblies, requested “clarification” on how puberty and reproduction were taught in the curriculum, questioned the appropriateness of “specific books in the school library” including one comedic children’s book called The Boy in the Dress, as well as a video shown to her daughter which led her to ask whether you could “stop puberty”.
In October, she met with school principal Mark Gibson to discuss her concerns about the library books and the video, and expressed “disappointment and concern over the direction the school is taking especially regarding upholding Catholic values”.
Mr Gibson said he had reviewed and deemed all those library materials as appropriate.
After further back and forth, the Diocese of Ballarat wrote to her to defend the school’s educational program as “determined by the professional judgment of its experienced educators” and suggested there was a “misalignment between the educational program offered by the school, and your expectations”.
At the end of last month, the diocese confirmed the decision to terminate Narelle’s daughter’s enrolment, claiming they had taken a number of measures to address her concerns regarding the curriculum and books, but there was a “distrust”, lack of respect and support for “those entrusted with providing (your daughter) with an education”.
Faced with a claim her interactions with the school had “created a psychosocial risk and negatively impacted the wellbeing of staff members (including the principal)”, Narelle said she only raised concerns with the principal and vice principal.
Ballarat Diocese executive director Tom Sexton, in the last letter to Narelle, said they would oppose her application to VCAT, and said “for the avoidance of doubt, that this decision is not motivated by your religious or political activities or beliefs”.
At a VCAT hearing in December, the diocese also raised concerns about a Facebook page where Narelle publishes what they labelled “inappropriate” comments about the diocese and its people. Narelle said she was very open about her concerns online.
Narelle told The Australian she “acted in good faith” at all times and “wanted to believe that the school would be reasonable about this but was stunned to find they doubled-down and said the books, especially, were appropriate for the Catholic school library”.
“I should be able to make a complaint to the school without fear of being told to leave because I’m making noise,” she said.
The Diocese of Ballarat Catholic Education schools said it was “committed to creating a safe, respectful, and Christ-centred learning environment for students”.
“Programs and teaching resources utilised in our schools are consistent with the well-established Diocesan Relationships and Sexuality Education curriculum and comply with Victorian Government Child Safe Standards.”
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