Pitched as a "calm down" and a course-correction, Labour says it would unwind the coalition government's fast-paced school reforms — restoring schools' Treaty of Waitangi commitment, easing top-down testing, and rewriting the curriculum with New Zealand experts rather than what it calls a politicised, imported model.

The Policy: Labour Reverse Education Changes — 2026 Election →

What it does:

• Reinstates the legal duty on school boards to give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The coalition removed section 127's Treaty obligation from the Education and Training Act 2020 in November 2025; Labour's Māori education spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime announced a member's bill, the Education and Training (Upholding Te Tiriti o Waitangi) Amendment Bill, to put the clause back.
• Targets the coalition's assessment regime. The government brought a new maths curriculum forward to Term 1 2025 with twice-yearly assessments and a goal of 80% of Year 8 students at curriculum level by 2030, after data showed only 22% of Year 8s at the expected maths standard. Labour says it shares concerns about mandated testing and "the politicisation of the education system".
• Keeps what is "bedded in" but rewrites the rest. Labour's education spokesperson Ginny Andersen says a re-elected Labour would retain the English and maths curriculums already in classrooms while re-writing the wider curriculum alongside New Zealand experts, reversing the coalition's draft years 0-10 refresh.
• Sits against a wide reform programme Labour opposes, including the one hour a day each of reading, writing and maths and the school phone ban, a staged NCEA replacement from 2028-2030, and the return and expansion of charter schools.

The result: This is an opposition pledge, not law — Labour is in opposition and the Te Tiriti bill is a member's bill that has not passed, so the change depends on the 2026 election. Note on a contested topic: parties differ sharply on Te Tiriti's place in school governance, and the positions below are stated as their holders put them. Education Minister Erica Stanford argues boards "cannot and should not carry the Crown's constitutional obligations" and that the 2020 clause made "no difference" to Māori achievement; Associate Minister David Seymour and the lobby group Hobson's Pledge backed removal. Labour leader Chris Hipkins counters that boards should ask "why are Māori kids not achieving at the same level as non-Māori kids?" The Waitangi Tribunal's stage one report (15 May 2026), with presiding officer Rachel Mullins, found the Crown breached the principles of partnership and good government and urged an immediate halt — a finding Labour cites in support, while the government pressed on. On the wider reforms, NZEI and the Principals' Federation have criticised workload and pace, but the government points to early gains of 5% in writing and 6% in maths for Year 6 students in 2025 as evidence its approach is working.

The impacts to watch:

• Whether the Treaty clause becomes an election dividing line, given the Waitangi Tribunal urgent inquiry and active iwi opposition.
• Disruption risk for schools and teachers from a second round of curriculum and assessment change so soon after the coalition's, which sector bodies have already called too fast.
• The fate of charter schools and the NCEA replacement, which a Labour government would also have to decide whether to keep, pause or unwind.
• Whether reversing testing affects the achievement-tracking data the coalition has used to claim early progress.