Designated Special Character schools were created under the

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Education Act of 1989 which allows the Minister of Education to establish two types of special character schools under Sections 155 and 156 of the act. The Ministry of Educatio
defines a Designated Special Character School
as "a state school that has a particular character which sets it apart from ordinary state schools and kura kaupapa Māori. The only students who may enrol at a designated character school are those whose parents accept the particular character of the school."

Section 155 schools

Kura Kaupapa Māori Kura Kaupapa Māori are Māori-language immersion schools () in New Zealand where the philosophy and practice reflect Māori cultural values with the aim of revitalising Māori language, knowledge and culture. Kura kaupapa Māori are establish ...

( Māori-language immersion schools), where the principal language of instruction is

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

. Kura Kaupapa Māori differ from the earlier Kohanga reo in that Kohanga reo are immersion kindergartens whereas Kura Kaupapa Māori are immersion schools. * Te Kura o Waikare * Nga Taiatea Wharekura * Te Kura o Hirangi * Te Kura o Torere * Te Kura Toitu o Te Whaiti-nui-a-Toi * Te Kura Kaupapa Motuhake o Tawhiuau * Mana Tamariki * Te Kura o Te Whakatupuranga Rua Mano * Te Kura Maori o Porirua In 2018, some of New Zealand's twelve approved Partnership Schools (a version of charter school) successfully applied to become designated special character schools after the newly formed coalition government set about removing legislation from the New Zealand Education Act allowing for charter schools.

Section 156 schools

These are identified as ''Designated Character Schools'', under Section 156. The special character of schools established under this section is not specified in the Act, and parents may propose any desirable special character as long as no other local school is already delivering an education reflecting the same special character. *

Ao Tawhiti Ao Tawhiti or Ao Tawhiti Unlimited Discovery (abbreviated "ATUD") is a state area school in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was established by the merging of two separate Christchurch inner city schools; the primary school Discovery 1 (unofficiall ...

* Te Whanau o Tupuranga''"The merged school will be a Year 7-13 designated character school under section 156"''
9SEP2010, gazette.govt.nz

References

Designated Special Character schools {{Maori-stub