School Boards
Section 31 – Delegation of education authority’s functions to School Board
68.Section 31 repeals paragraphs 2 to 13 of schedule 3 of the 1988 Act. These paragraphs allow a School Board to request the delegation of functions from the education authority and give the Board power (following a ballot of parents) to refer the request to the Scottish Ministers should the authority refuse. The functions that may be delegated are described in section 15 of the 1988 Act. While there remains a right for authorities to delegate functions to Boards if they so wish (under section 15 of the 1988 Act), and in practice they would do so in consultation with the Board, there are now no longer formal powers for the Board to challenge a refusal by the authority of the Board’s request for delegation of functions. To date, no Board has successfully challenged a refusal to delegate functions.