By KHT Staff. Image via KH City Govt.
KAOHSIUNG — Kaohsiung City Government’s Education Bureau (高雄市政府教育局) said it is working on new guidelines to improve how schools handle disputes among parents, teachers and students, to reduce unnecessary formal investigations, and give teachers stronger support.
The bureau held a consultation meeting late last week under instructions from Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁), inviting representatives from two major teacher groups, the Kaohsiung City Teachers’ Union (高雄市教師職業工會) and the Kaohsiung Teachers’ Association of Industrial Unions (高雄市教師產業工會), as well as the city’s principals association.
The bureau stated that participants reached a preliminary consensus on reforming school affairs meetings and establishing a clearer communication and mediation mechanism.
Education officials said disagreements between parents, teachers and students are common on campuses, but if handled poorly in the early stages, they can quickly move into complicated legal investigation procedures. That can consume school resources and deepen conflict, the bureau said.
The planned mechanism would emphasize “communication first,” encouraging schools to bring in outside professionals in psychology, counseling, law and education when needed to help resolve disputes early.
The bureau said it also plans to set aside a special budget for legal consultation services for teachers, giving them professional support while carrying out teaching and counseling duties.
The bureau also plans to integrate student counseling and campus safety resources into a single consultation and assistance window for schools. Additional measures will include support from counseling teams and workshops on handling campus incidents.
The bureau said the approach will combine early communication with legal backup, while protecting teachers’ rights and helping schools build safer and more stable learning environments.
