said it was Government?s responsibility to get rid of bad behaviour. ?This is to encourage our people, this is not a political issue, these are guidelines which are to better the lives of parents and children,? he said.

?We are hearing bad language coming out of the mouths of small children, bad behaviour is guaranteed in small children when parents act in a similar manner.? said as a former school principal, the rules were necessary to protect school principals and teachers. While he said it was necessary for teachers to help build parents self-esteem, they must understand that threats and bad behaviour on school premises will not be tolerated.

?Parents must have reminders of what the expectations are. As a culture we must stop and say our school system will not tolerate any profanity.?

He said Principals were subject to bad behaviour and recalled having a parent threaten to kill him in front of the whole school. ?I encourage parents to accept what the Principal says even if they don?t agree. Allow the school to discipline your child, with some explanation and understanding.? questioned the legality of the motion, saying the rules declare a parent should not engage in offensive language without complete recognition that profanity in public is already an offence under Bermuda?s law.

Mr. Barritt said holding parents liable for bad behaviour and offensive language is the responsibility of the Police and the judicial system, and should not be the responsibility of principals and officials.

He said the Minister of Education has the authority to make such rules, however, legislators should exercise caution as they could end up trespassing into legal matters.

?The real issue is that should a student or a group of students get hold of matches and set a school alight. Are you as an educator seriously able under this (rules) to hold a parent responsible? He should be held liable in a court of law, we could be talking about a serious amount of money.? encouraged parents to ensure their children ate properly and got enough sleep, as well as pleading with them to reinforce the discipline of the school.

Noting that if the legislation reaches just one parent or child it will be a success, he said: ?To those who have said this will not make a difference, I beg to disagree.? said the Opposition fully supports the rules, noting they were the first step in the right direction.

However he wished Government had taken more than one step, and offered several suggestions.

Children act out the drama of their own homes at school, he said, adding that the bill does not seem to make provision for that.

Suggesting that Government be more pro-active and target all families, not just the ?bad? ones, he called for non-punitive parental training, literacy programmes for parents who may feel insecure helping their children with their homework, and greater co-ordination between the Ministry of Education and Child and Family Services regarding child protection.

He also called for more male teachers in the public school system, and an increase in peer mediation in schools.

But, he said, the Opposition welcomed the bill as it came out of ?genuine love and concern? for the Island?s young people. said the legislation came at a time when there was a lot of concern in the Island?s public schools.

When parents did accomplish all that was expected of them, she said, they deserved to be recognised and praised for their efforts. Other caregivers, such as grandparents and godparents or other relatives, also deserved praise for stepping in when the birth parents were unable to do so.

Children have to be taught to feel more responsibility for the school grounds, she said, and called on fathers to be more involved. As a provider of academic studies for CedarBridge and Berkeley, Ms Butterfield said she has seen a child?s entire outlook for the day change just because a father made the time to show up to hug them before school or camp.

That kind of support was needed even more in the secondary school, she said, where for some reason parental support appears to decrease in comparison to the primary schools.

Her Shadow counterpart said the new rules should not be punitive.

He also called for a social worker to be assigned to each school to help with families needing the extra support, saying that if both parents have challenges, other caregivers in the extended family need and deserve that support. Children need to know that their opinions are valued also, he said. said he was pleased to hear the support from both sides of the House for the rules, and to hear all the suggestions for future initiatives.

Voicing his disappointment that society is at a point where such rules must be legislated, he said the legislation does not imply that parents do not care. ?They may have good intentions, they just don?t know how to carry them out.?

The rules, he said, are a ?reminder? of what is expected, and he hoped that all involved would make the most of them. ?Children cannot do it on their own.?

The newly-revised Code of Conduct in the public schools, setting the standard for student behaviour, provided the basis for much of the legislation, he said, adding that the rights and responsibilities are built into that code.

Prior to amendments to the Education Act in 2003 the Minister did not have the power to regulate parental behaviour, he said. The amendments gave the Minister the power to legislate these rules, however: ?It has never been our intention to use that to create parental criminals?.

Instead, the rules simply lay out what will happen if parents do not follow their responsibilities. Parents can end up in court on summary convictions if they do not pull their weight, he said, however that is an absolute last resort.

Courts may also order parenting classes or counselling programmes for parents not complying with the rules.

Constant communication with the Bermuda Union of Teachers (BUT) and the Bermuda Association of Principals (BAP) kept them abreast of the legislation, Mr. Lister said, adding that both organisations supported the rules.

The Chamber of Commerce and the Bermuda Employers Council were also kept informed, and while some smaller businesses had expressed concern at parents having to take time off work to attend the schools, Mr. Lister said employers and parents must work together to find a way.

He suggested parents using time when they are not working, such as personal days, as well as getting the schools to formally write employers indicating when parents will be attending.

He then explained in depth the ten clauses in the bill.

One clause redefined the meaning of the word ?parent?, he said, to include the child?s guardian or other caregivers, adding that was the ?2004 Reality?.

The ?2004 Reality? also included the provision of service providers such as therapists and psychologists.

While other schools may use the rules, he said, at present Government was focusing primarily on the public school system.

One clause enforced proper documentation from parents when enrolling their children ? a clause which, Mr. Lister said, prevented children who are in Bermuda illegally from enrolling.

That clause will also prevent parents from enrolling their child under a different address in order to get them into a school which may not be in their school zone, but which the parents may feel is better than their own neighbourhood school.

Another clause called for parents to attend at least one of the two parent-teacher conferences each year, while parents are also required to attend at least one of the usual ten Parent Teacher Association meetings held each year.

When questioned about the legality of the rules, Mr. Lister said an investigation by the Principal in the case of damaged property and violent and offensive behaviour, would determine who did what. ?It would move to a court of law where there are laws in place to deal with this issue so the parent and the student could be dealt with in a court of law.? said there were rules actionable under the criminal code to remedy such behaviour. She pointed out that if parents were illiterate they should have the option of having the rules read and explained verbally. ?They must understand what they are responsible for.?

She also pointed out that parents who spent half a day in their child?s classroom may lose out monetarily. ?That $15 an hour a parent may receive could come to $60 taken out of the family budget for a week.?

Ms. Gordon Pamplin continued saying that as a mother of two children, she was aware of the responsibilities involved in child-rearing, however, she said there has to be consideration as all children do not come from the same set of circumstances.