The party’s new policy would allow teachers to send disruptive students to a supervised space and staff would be protected when using a “reasonable and proportionate” intervention to prevent harm or destruction of property.<\/p>\n
Announcing the policy in Auckland on Sunday, ACT candidate Paul Henry<\/a> said the law would give teachers clear legal protections and the power to regain “order” in the classroom.<\/p>\n “Let’s be honest, there are a lot of little s**** in classrooms, and we need to address that if we’re going to lift education standards.<\/p>\n Paul Henry. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n “Teachers need to know they’re respected [and] they need to know the law is actually on their side.”<\/p>\n ACT would “clarify” the boundaries already set under Section 99 of the Education and Training Act 2020 so teachers know what is permitted and are protected when they act reasonably.<\/p>\n Act policy would see ‘reasonable force’ used to remove unruly students – watch on TVNZ+<\/a><\/p>\n Henry said teachers would be allowed to use “reasonable force” in specific circumstances, but denied “corporal punishment” would be allowed.<\/p>\n “We can’t have the situation where that line is blurred. This has nothing to do with corporal punishment. This has nothing to do with punishing the child who is the problem.”<\/p>\n The current guidelines allow school staff to physically restrain students as a last resort to prevent harm. The method must also be “reasonable and proportionate”.<\/p>\n![\"Paul](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/paul-henry-S6I7YO2UVFA55NNNYJONTKQREA.jpg\")
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