Submission to the NSW Legislative Council, Portfolio Committee No. 3 – Education, Inquiry into children and young people with disability in New South Wales educational settings
21 March 2024
People with Disability Australia has provided feedback on the NSW Legislative Council, Portfolio Committee No. 3 – Education, Inquiry into children and young people with disability in New South Wales educational settings (the Inquiry).
Inclusive education systems based upon the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), are the key mechanism to tackle the ongoing marginalisation of people with disability.
Achieving a human rights compliant inclusive education system in NSW requires that;
- segregated education settings are dismantled, and
- attitudes, practices, and structures preventing a student with disability from full participation in the learning environment and achieving their potential are removed.
Summary of Recommendations
Recommendation 1: An independent Ministerial Disability Advisory Council should be established to advise the Minister on relevant matters such as those within the Inquiry’s terms of reference.
Recommendation 2: The NSW Department of Education should adopt a CRPD compliant definition of inclusive education.
Recommendation 3: The NSW Department of Education should develop a plan to transition to a fully inclusive education system within the next 10 years.
Recommendation 4: The Education Act 1990 (NSW) should be amended to recognize the CRPD and CRC explicitly and recognize the human rights model of disability as a key principle upon which the Act is based.
Recommendation 5: All NSW public education staff should undergo awareness training on ableism, understanding the human rights model of disability and intersectional issues facing students with disability and their families.
Recommendation 6: Funding for the Disability Advocacy Futures Program must be continued to continue to support students’ rights.