On election eve, disability groups have united to ask voters and candidates to meet the promise of inclusion for the next generation of Canberra children and young people with disability.
Education is a path to hope, prosperity and future wellbeing so it is fitting we end our shared campaign advocacy with a call to improve educational outcomes for people with disability. Yet only 56% of people with disability complete year 12 compared to 77% without – a reality which sets to many people on a path to low incomes, low employment and poor life prospects.
Education is a human right and we need more than bad choices between segregated settings and poorly resourced, inadequate mainstreaming. There is no real ‘choice’ as there are few examples of well-resourced, universally designed education offerings in mainstream settings.
We want the next Assembly to:
- Address teacher workload issues – through an additional administrative resource in each school – to ensure teachers are able to allocate focus and attention to inclusion
- Increase the student funding loading for students with disability
- Build universal design into all curricula and premises
- Make critical access upgrades to ACT schools – establish a firm target for all of them complying with access standards
- Commit to a goal of moving students out of segregated settings
We thank candidates, voters, members and the media for engaging with people with disability across the election campaign. We look forward to the new Assembly and will be working to keep the next administration informed and accountable.
You can find all more information about the promises from candidates, our election work and accessible voting in our election day wrap up here.
Media contacts: Use quotes below or contact Shannon Kolak, ACT Down Syndrome and Intellectual Disability on 0408646857 or secondary contact Craig Wallace on 0477 200 755
Quotes attributable to disability organisations
“One of the ways that truly inclusive education can be achieved is by addressing the challenges surrounding teacher workload. This would give teachers the time and resources to focus on creating more inclusive settings.”
“With increases in the number of students meeting the ACT Student Disability Criteria, it is also critical that this is matched with increases to the student funding loading model supporting students with disability. The student resource allocation model has been under review since 2022. We need transparency into both the funding rates and calculation methods.”
“Three of the Disability Royal Commissioners, and two with lived experience of disability, recommended phasing out and ending special/segregated education as it stands in stark contrast to the CRPD rights of inclusive education. We call upon the ACT Government to be a beacon of change by committing to the goal of moving students out of segregated settings.”
Shannon Kolak, ACT Down Syndrome & Intellectual Disability
“We would like to see the adoption of a universal design approach whereby systems, processes and services are designed with improved accessibility for all students, parents and carers, regardless of whether or not disability is identified. This will increase accessibility for people with misdiagnosed or unrecognised support needs and reduce the onus on people with disability to disclose their support needs.”
“Accessibility is an important topic when it comes to inclusive education. This includes flexible classroom spaces, quiet rooms and withdrawal spaces, outdoor courtyards and playgrounds. It is vital that critical access upgrades are made across our education settings – particularly regarding automatic doors, ramps, and accessible toilets. Firm targets need to be set to ensure these settings comply with access standards.”
Craig Wallace, Advocacy for Inclusion
Education Priorities
Problem statement
Access to quality education is universally recognised as a key pathway to the achievement of social, economic, political and human rights, especially for children. It is acknowledged around the world that access to education is intrinsically linked to key developmental indicators and milestones from child development to employment. Access to education is not only formative, it underpins other fundamental rights and has rippling impacts felt across all aspects of our lives.
The persistence of the binary education system of mainstream and special schooling has been justified by the argument of parental choice. However, the evidence from the Disability Royal Commission is that parents of children with disability do not have viable schooling options to choose from. Mainstream schools as they currently exist struggle to provide what parents want. But segregated schools do not offer an acceptable alternative, even if co-located with mainstream schools or with programs to occasionally share experiences with non-disabled peers. These are flawed responses for fixing complex problems and have had little success in the past.
The vision and ethical leadership required to move the ACT beyond an inequitable educational status quo continue to elude us. The decision to maintain both mainstream and special schooling options is inconsistent with research evidence on outcomes for students with disability and for their peers. From this, it is clear that genuine inclusion is superior over the short-, medium- and long-term. Maintaining a dual system dilutes the efforts for real change and creates a distraction from the critical work of making an authentic difference in the lives of students with disability.
We want to ensure that every child realises their fundamental right to an inclusive education under the CRDP. Article 24 of the CRPD recognises “the right of persons with disabilities to education. With a view to realizing this right without discrimination and on the basis of equal opportunity, States Parties shall ensure an inclusive education systems at all levels and life-long learning.”
Evidence
The evidence of poor education completion is seen in low attainment, low incomes, poorer life prospects and low employment:
| People with disability are less likely to complete year 12: 56.1% compared to 77.3% of people with no reported disability |
| One-third (33%) of people with disability identify wages or salary as their main source of personal income. Compare this to more than two-thirds (71%) of people with no reported disability |
| The employment rate is 20% lower for people with a disability aged 15-64. |
| Nearly one-third (30.8%) of people with disability aged 15+ are in the lowest income quintiles. Compare this to 10.4% for people with no reported disability. |
Key facts:
- 21.8 per cent of students in ACT schools were recorded as receiving adjustments because of disability in 2023
- The number of students meeting ACT Student Disability Criteria increased by 23.8 per cent between 2018 and 2022
- The benefits of inclusive education extent to students with and without disability
- When students with diverse abilities learn together, they are exposed to varied perspectives and problem-solving approaches which enrich the learning experience for everyone
- Inclusive education promotes the development of essential social skills, such as empathy, cooperation and communication.
- There is no evidence that segregated settings produce better life outcomes for students with disability
- A comprehensive review of all studies of inclusive education conducted by over a 40-year period compared education outcomes for students with disability in segregated versus regular education environments. No study indicated better outcomes in segregated settings (Cologon, 2019).
- Conversely, segregated education leads to poorer academic, social, and emotional outcomes for students with disability. These negative effects include:
- Employment: graduates are less likely to attain competitive and secure employment
- Abuse and neglect: segregation heightens the risk of abuse for children with disability. Students in segregated settings also experience higher rates of bullying and victimisation than students in general education settings
- Studies have found that parents of children with complex needs ‘settle for’ or feel ‘forced’ into specialist settings due to lack of capacity in mainstream schools.
- Deloitte Access Economics found that in a survey of 713 parents, “almost 33% states their child had been refused enrolment or encouraged to go to another school because of their disability.”
Our asks
In the coming ACT election, we ask candidates to commit to working towards genuine inclusion of students with disability in mainstream classrooms and create better life chances and outcomes for students with disability.
- Address teacher workload issues to ensure that teachers are able to allocate focus and attention to inclusion
- Increase the student funding loading for students with disability
- Build universal design into all curricula and premises
- Make critical access upgrades to ACT schools – establish a firm target for all of them complying with access standards
- Commit to a goal of moving students out of segregated settings
Election comment authorised by Shannon Kolak for ACT Down Syndrome and Intellectual Disability