The Government has announced that Autism NZ Education Hub will open in Term 3 2026 as a charter school.
Associate Education Minister, David Seymour said every child deserves the opportunity to learn and grow in ways which are more specific to their needs.
"Today's announcement demonstrates the innovation enabled by the charter school model," Mr Seymour says.
"Autism NZ Education Hub will give another option to autistic and neurodivergent secondary school students who have struggled with traditional schooling. It will be sponsored by Autism NZ and operate from campuses in Wellington and Auckland.
"Students' days will follow a personalised plan built around their strengths, interests, and needs. Core education will be balanced with development of life skills and social-emotional learning.
"The goal is to get students benefitting from in class education. It will utilise online and community-based learning as ways to transition students back into the classroom, learning face-to-face."
It is estimated there are at least 3,900 autistic students in years 9-13 in Auckland and Wellington. National data suggests there is disproportionately high and chronic absence and school rejection among neurodivergent and disabled students, particularly in secondary years, said Minister Seymour.
"The 2023 Education Review Office review on Alternative Education highlighted this concern. Autism New Zealand has relentlessly advocated for efforts to better understand and address these inequalities," he said.
"Providing more education options for whānau is essential to ensuring that every young person can access an education that supports their individual needs. The Autism New Zealand Education Hub represents a meaningful step forward for autistic learners and their families. We appreciate the support of the Charter School Agency in helping bring this vision to life," Dane Dougan, the CE of Autism New Zealand says.
"Charter schools show education can be different if we let communities bring their ideas to the table," Mr Seymour says.
"These schools have more flexibility in return for strictly measured results. The charter school equation is: the same funding as state schools, plus greater flexibility plus stricter accountability for results, equals student success.
"There are more ideas in the communities of New Zealand than there are in the Government. That's why we open ideas to the wider community, then apply strict performance standards to the best ones."
It will join the five new charter schools announced in the last couple of weeks which will open in 2026 - taking the total number of charter schools to 17.