The Queensland regulator that launched an investigation into two Christian schools over concerns they were teaching religious stories as part of science classes says it will not be taking action against the schools.

In a letter to the Rationalist Society of Australia (RSA) earlier this month, the Non-State Schools Accreditation Board (NSSAB) said that it found Chinchilla Christian College and Dalby Christian College to be “delivering the Australian Curriculum achievement standards”.

The regulator’s inaction suggests that schools teaching additional religious content as part of science classes can do so as long as they also deliver the Australian Curriculum.

On their websites, these heavily taxpayer-funded schools say they deliver the Australian Curriculum from a “Biblical worldview”, with Dalby college saying it also helps “students understand each subject … in light of God’s truth”.

Earlier this year, the RSA lodged complaints with the NSSAB after discovering that these faith schools – both part of the Open Brethren’s Christian Community Ministries (CCM) network – were teaching religious stories in science classes.

According to handbooks and other content posted on the school’s website, Chinchilla Christian College was teaching about “land formations of God’s great creation and Noah’s flood” in ‘Geography’ classes. 

Meanwhile, similar publicly available documents showed that Dalby Christian College was teaching students in ‘Science’ classes that “science provides us with insights into God’s creation, enabling us to appreciate both the unity and order, diversity and complexity of God’s work.”

In the complaints to the regulator, the RSA expressed concern that the teaching of such content contradicted and undermined the teaching of the mandatory content of the Australian Curriculum.

In March, the NSSAB told the RSA that it would be writing to the schools’ governing body, CCM, to “seek its response to the matters raised in your complaints”. 

The NSSAB is responsible for monitoring the compliance of non-state schools and their governing bodies with the accreditation criteria set out in the Education (Accreditation of Non-State Schools) Act (QLD).

In its letter to the RSA this month, NSSAB Chairperson Patrea Walton said the documents provided by CCM demonstrated that Dalby Christian College was “delivering the Australian Curriculum achievement standards for Science in Years 7 to 10 and is assessing and reporting the Biological Sciences aspects of the achievement standard as required”.

Ms Walton also said the documents also demonstrated that Chinchilla Christian College was “delivering the Australian Curriculum achievement standards for Geography in Years 7 to 10 and assessing and reporting against the relative achievement standard”.

“… the Board has concluded that, based on the information provided and assessed in the investigation, there is no basis for further action in relation to your complaints,” said Ms Walton.

 “I have also written to Christian Community Ministries Ltd to inform it of the outcome of the Board’s investigation of the complaints.”

Each year, state and federal governments give millions of dollars in recurring funding and capital expenditure to these schools.

Non-state schools are still required to teach the Australian Curriculum, or an approved version of it, with the science curriculum including topics such as evolutionary theory and the Big Bang, and the content based on scientific evidence and methods.

Federal education department deflects concerns

In a letter to the federal education minister, Jason Clare, in March, the RSA highlighted several examples of faith-based schools teaching religious stories in science classes and asked whether the government would investigate how widespread the problem may be.

In response, the federal Department of Education said state and territory governments, and non-government education authorities, were responsible for the day-to-day administration of schools.

“This includes decisions about curriculum implementation, education programs and teaching and learning resources. Concerns about the implementation of the curriculum are best raised with state and territory Education Ministers”, said the department.

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Si Gladman is Executive Director of the Rationalist Society of Australia. He also hosts ‘The Secular Agenda’ podcast.

Image: Jametlene Reskp (Unsplash)