Education in South Africa underwent major changes with the passage of the South African Schools Act of 1996. The details of this act and some of its consequences are outlined in this report. The paper opens with the particulars of the act and delves into the act's wording, asking "What is basic education?" and "What is meant by 'equal access to educational institutions?'" The report then moves to children and school law, focusing on the position of children and the law. The act was intended to abolish the previous racially based education system in South Africa and thus facilitate the democratic transformation of education. Some of the various issues discussed include admission and compulsory attendance; truancy, suspension, and expulsion; corporal punishment and other forms of discipline; indemnity, where parents are exempted from the obligation to pay school fees, which may be determined and charged only if a resolution to do so has been adopted by a majority of parents; allegations of cheating and sexual harassment; and the representative council of learners. (RJM)