'A vulnerable age': Parents refuse to say why kids didn't go to school for several years

A couple prosecuted after failing to send their children to school have given no explanation and declined to comment when they appeared in court.

The Eastern Bay of Plenty couple are the first parents prosecuted under new legislation targeting truancy after they failed to ensure their two teenagers attended school regularly.

That hasn’t happened since 2021 when the siblings were removed from their school roll for continuous absence.

In July the couple pleaded guilty to two charges each of failing or refusing to ensure their children were enrolled.

Today they represented themselves in the Whakatāne District Court, where they stood together in the dock to be sentenced.

Their children were not present.

When Community Magistrate Sherida Cooper asked if they wished to say anything they declined.

Crown prosecutor Georgina Ellison said the Ministry of Education sought a starting point of a $2000 fine for each parent.

She said aggravating features were the number of children affected, the prolonged nature of the offending, the lack of engagement from the parents and the children’s age.

Ellison said a reduction of 20% for their guilty plea was appropriate.

Since pleading guilty, the teens had been re-enrolled in school, therefore Ellison said a further 5% discount would be appropriate, bringing the total fine to $1500 per parent.

Cooper agreed and fined them $1500 and $152 court costs each.

She said the teens were at a “vulnerable age” and had “not had the privilege” to attend school.

She said the court did “not have much to consider” as the couple had not explained why the children were not attending school.

They were granted permanent name suppression to protect their children’s identities.

According to the summary of facts, the young teens were enrolled at a primary school, but their attendance had declined since Covid-19.

In 2021, the children were removed from their school roll for continuous absence, but no exemption to home school was obtained, and they remained off any school roll until April 2024.

The Ministry of Education sent warning letters to the parents throughout 2022 and 2023, telling them the children were required to attend school.

In 2022 the mother advised Attendance Services in her area that she and her children would not be engaging.

In April 2024, the children were enrolled in Te Kura, a national school that provides distance learning programmes.

By December 2024, they’d been unenrolled after Te Kura received no contact from the family.

On October 7, 2025, Attendance Service sent a further letter to the couple, explaining they’d tried “multiple interventions” to support them.

Unless the children’s attendance improved “significantly”, there would be a “prosecution case” against them, the letter said.

Less than 10 days later the Ministry of Education sent another letter confirming it would be investigating under section 243 of the Education and Training Act 2020.

According to background material in the summary of facts, in term two of 2025, 58.4% of students were attending school regularly.

In term three it dropped to 50.3%, and in term four it rose to 57.3%.

The Government target is 80% of students attending school at least 90% of the time by 2030.

Helen Hurst, Ministry of Education group general manager operational standards and support, said prosecution was a last resort after other avenues had been exhausted.

Since the new legislation came into place, 36 cases had been considered, including today’s sentencing.

Of the other 35 cases, 22 were resolved without prosecution, two cases had been referred for prosecution and one case resulted in a formal warning by the Ministry.

“Every child has the legal right to an education, and this case highlights the importance of parents meeting their legal obligations to ensure their children attend school and benefit from education.”

Brianna McIlraith is a Queenstown-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the lower South Island. She has been a journalist since 2018 with a strong interest in business and financial journalism.