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Title: Family Education Act CH
Amended Date: 2019-05-08
Category: Ministry of Education(教育部)
Article 1
This Act has been formulated to enhance the public's family life related knowledge and skills, family relationships, and healthy family functioning. Matters not provided for in this Act shall be governed by the provisions of other relevant laws.
Article 2
In this Act, the term "family education" refers to educational activities and services of all kinds that enhance family relationships and family functioning. The scope of "family education" shall be prescribed by the central competent authority.
Article 3
In this Act the term "competent authority" refers to the Ministry of Education at the central government level, the municipal government at the municipal level, and the county or city government at the county or city level respectively.
When any matter(s) provided for in this Act involves more than one competent authority, each competent authority involved shall cooperate in the handling of the matter(s).
Article 4
The central competent authority shall be in charge of matters pertaining to the following:
1. Formulation of family education related laws, regulations and policies;
2. Research and development related to the implementation and promotion of family education;
3. Planning, delegation, and oversight of nationwide work to implement and promote family education;
4. Incentives and subsidies for and evaluation of nationwide work to implement and promote family education;
5. Professional family education personnel pre-service and in-service training matters and the building up of a human resources database;
6. Family education advocacy, and implementation and promotion;
7. Implementation and promotion of international exchanges and cooperation regarding family education related matters;
8. Other matters pertaining to the nationwide implementation and promotion of family education.
Article 5
Each competent authority at the municipal, county, and city levels shall be in charge of matters pertaining to the following:
1. Implementation and promotion of the planning, handling, advocacy, and supervision of local family education;
2. Incentives and subsidies for and evaluation of the family education work undertaken by institutions, agencies, and educational institutions under its jurisdiction;
3. In-service training for the personnel and the voluntary staff of institutions, agencies, educational institutions, juristic persons, and organizations that implement and promote family education;
4. Implementation and promotion of family education related local and international exchanges and cooperation;
5. Other matters pertaining to the implementation and promotion of family education at the local level.
Article 6
Each competent authority at each level shall select and appoint (assign) scholars and experts, and representatives of institutions and organizations to form a family education advisory committee with the following responsibilities:
1. Providing recommendations regarding proposed family education related policies, and laws and regulations;
2. Coordinating, supervising, and assessing institutions and organizations involved in implementing and promoting family education;
3. Formulating the direction(s) for development of the implementation of family education and service measures;
4. Providing recommendations regarding family education implementation and promotion strategies, programs, and plans;
5. Providing recommendations regarding the planning, and research and development of family education related programs, educational materials, and activities;
6. Providing recommendations to improve the services effectiveness of agencies that implement and promote family education;
7. Other advisory matters regarding the implementation and promotion of family education.
Regulations governing the selection of members of the family education advisory committees referred to in the preceding paragraph, and their organizational structure, methods of operation, and other related matters shall be prescribed by the competent authorities at each level. The central advisory committee shall be chaired by the Minister of Education. The advisory committees at the municipal, county, and city level shall be chaired by the head of the respective municipality, county, or city.
The scholars and experts, and the organization representatives referred to in Paragraph 1 are not permitted to make up less than one-half of any advisory committee. The number of committee members of any one gender is not permitted to be less than one-third of the total number of committee members.
When a meeting of an advisory committee referred to in Paragraph 1 is convened, children, young people, and/or other relevant personnel may be invited to attend in a non-voting capacity.
Article 7
Each municipal, county, and city competent authority shall set up a family education center and shall work in conjunction with the authorities and agencies associated with education, culture, health affairs, social welfare, household registration, civil affairs, agricultural affairs, firefighting, police affairs, labor affairs, news, environmental protection, and indigenous peoples' affairs respectively, and with educational institutions, and the mass media to jointly promote family education matters within their respective jurisdiction, including:
1. Planning, and implementation and promotion of each family education related project;
2. Integrating community resources into implementing and promoting family education;
3. Providing family education consultations and services;
4. Recruiting, training, and assessing volunteer staff;
5. Implementing and promoting other to family education related matters.
Each family education center shall appoint a director. The directorship shall be a full-time position or be held on an adjunct basis by the head of the Education Bureau or Education Department of the respective municipal, county, or city competent authority. Each family education center shall also employ family education professionals and personnel who are professionals in social work related fields. Within three years from April 23, 2019, the date on which the amendments to this Act took effect, the number of professionals employed by each family education center shall be at least one half of the total number of its personnel.
The by-laws governing the family education centers referred to in Paragraph 1 shall be prescribed by each municipal, county, and city level competent authority.
The regulations governing the qualifications, employment, and training of the personnel who are professionals in social welfare related fields who are referred to in Paragraph 2 and other related matters shall be prescribed by the central competent authority in consultation with the central competent social welfare authority.
Article 8
The municipal, county, and city competent authorities may invite scholars and experts, educators, and persons engaged in practical family education work to form a family education, to assist the family education centers to design programs and educational materials and promote and implement related activities for educational institutions and communities.
Article 9
The following are the institutions, agencies, educational institutions, juristic persons, and organizations that implement and promote family education:
1. Family education centers;
2. Lifelong learning institutions;
3. Educational institutions at all levels;
4. All categories of mass media agencies;
5. Other public and private family education related institutions and organizations.
The director and the personnel working at the family education centers referred to in Subparagraph 1 of the preceding paragraph shall undertake at least 18 hours of family education related professional workshops each year.
The personnel working at the institutions and educational institutions referred to in Subparagraph 2 and Subparagraph 3 of Paragraph 1, implementing and promoting family education, shall undertake at least four hours of family education related professional workshops each year.
The institutions and organizations referred to in Subparagraph 4 and Subparagraph 5 of Paragraph 1 shall actively encourage their personnel who work implementing and promoting family education to undertake family education related professional workshops each year on a regular basis.
Article 10
Institutions, agencies, educational institutions, juristic persons, and organizations that implement and promote family education may recruit and train volunteer staff to assist in the implementation and promotion of family education.
Article 11
The competent authorities at each level shall provide the personnel and volunteer staff of institutions, agencies, educational institutions, juristic persons, and organizations that implement and promote family education with a full range of further learning programs and/or training.
Planning for the programs and training referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be determined each year by the competent authorities at each level. The plans drawn up by the municipal, county, and city competent authorities shall be submitted to the central competent authority for approval.
Article 12
The implementation and promotion of family education shall be undertaken in accordance with the principles of diversity, flexibility, and being in keeping with life-long learning, and, depending on the target group(s) and actual requirements, it may be conducted by means of lectures, discussion seminars, distance learning, case-by-case counseling, independent study, outreach services, participation in growth groups, and other appropriate methods, and the mass media, the internet, mobile communication devices, and other information technology may be integrated into implementing and promoting it.
The competent authorities at each level shall provide family education related information material to medical care institutions, elementary schools, and household registration authorities, which shall, in accordance with their respective responsibilities, provide such information to the parents, guardian, or actual caregivers of newborn children, and to people who are registering a new elementary school student, registering a marriage, registering a divorce, or registering a birth.
Article 13
Each academic year, schools at senior secondary level and below shall provide four or more hours of family education programs and activities outside the official curricula. They shall also organize parenting education for the students and their parents, guardian, or actual caregiver(s), in conjunction with the parent associations.
The competent authorities at each level shall proactively encourage universities that offer teacher training programs, open universities, and other tertiary colleges and institutes, to list family education related courses as required courses, or as general education courses.
Article 14
The central competent authority may designate target groups to be given priority access to receiving family education services and associated measures, based on perceived actual needs, and implement and promote such measures. When necessary, it may commission municipal, county, or city level competent authorities, or institutions, agencies, educational institutions, juristic persons, and/or organizations engaged in implementing and promoting family education to handle such matters.
The target groups to be given priority referred to in the preceding paragraph and the way(s) in which the measures referred to in the preceding paragraph are to be implemented shall be prescribed by the central competent authority.
Article 15
If a student at a school at senior secondary level or below is involved in any major incident involving violation of rules, the school shall promptly notify the student’s parents, guardian, or person(s) who actually take care of the student. The school shall also provide pertinent family education advisory or counseling services. Regulations governing the content, and number of hours of such services, parental participation, family visits, and other matters related to such services shall be prescribed by the relevant competent authority.
If the parents, guardian, or person(s) who actually take care of a student are notified to attend family education related advisory or counseling services, and fail to attend them after being notified in writing three or more times, the relevant competent authority may commission an institution, agency, educational institution, juristic person, and/or organization that implements and promotes family education to conduct an inspection visit.
When an institution, agency, educational institution, juristic person, and/or organization under the jurisdiction of, or which has been commissioned by, the relevant competent authority conducts an inspection visit, the parents, guardian, or person(s) who actually take care of the student, and teachers, and other related person(s) shall cooperate or provide relevant information. When necessary, the competent authority may also request assistance from another related institution, agency, educational institution, juristic person, and/or organization, and any institution, agency, educational institution, juristic person, or organization that receives such a request shall cooperate in the handling of the matter.
Any institution, agency, educational institution, juristic person, and/or organization that has been commissioned as referred to in the preceding paragraph that conducts an inspection visit and any personnel member who conducts an inspection visit shall keep completely confidential all confidential information and any private matters which they have obtained in the course of performing their duties regarding any case, and any related documents created or held by them, and they are not permitted to disclose or make public any details or such documents without proper reason.
Article 16
If, while exercising its duties, a competent social welfare authority has determined that there is a need for family education, it may refer the matter to an institution, agency, educational institution, juristic person, and/or organization that is engaged in the implementation and promotion of family education to provide pertinent services, such as family education programs, consultations, or counseling.
Article 17
The central competent authority may commission pertinent agencies and educational institutions to undertake research and development of a wide range of family education programs, teaching materials, and service programs.
Article 18
Each competent authority at each level shall provide generous funding for family education costs and shall allocate funds within its education budget to be used exclusively for the vigorous implementation and promotion of family education.
Article 19
The competent authorities at each level shall formulate incentives and subsidies to encourage institutions, agencies, educational institutions, juristic persons, and organizations that implement and promote family education to organize family education. Regulations governing such incentives and subsidies shall be prescribed by the competent authorities at each level.
Article 20
The Enforcement Rules for this Act shall be prescribed by the central competent authority.
Article 21
This Act shall take effect from the date of promulgation.