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All students with
disabilities have the right to
equitable access to the same educational
choices as other students.
Physical
Access
The lack of physical
access is a significant barrier to
students with physical disabilities,
forcing students to travel significant
distances on a daily basis. Only a small
percentage of schools are physically
accessible and the
 Department
of Education and Training
(DET) has no
systematic plan for upgrading access in
schools.
There has been a
moratorium on building maintenance since
1995 forcing some students to stay home or
change schools while awaiting repairs to a
lift.
Many parts of TAFE
colleges and most Community Colleges and
private Vocational Education and Training
providers are inaccessible. Many sections
of universities have no access.
Discrimination in
Enrolment
Students with
physical disabilities do not have a right
to attend the regular class in local
schools. They are subject to the judgement
of the Department of Education and
Training (DET) as to whether or not the
enrolment "is possible and practicable and
in the best interests of the child". There
is no independent authority to which
parents can appeal decisions or make
complaints.
There have been
numerous complaints of discrimination in
enrolment lodged against the DET. The
DET's legal strategy has been to defend
each complaint vigorously, hoping to erode
the will and resources of complainants,
and where it has failed to do so, to
settle out of court in order to avoid a
public landmark legal ruling.
Resources
Students with
disabilities at all levels of the
education system have various needs to
ensure that they have at least the same
opportunities for education as other
students. These include personal care
needs, teacher’s aides, transport to
and from school or colleges, modifications
to equipment and furniture and flexibility
in timetabling and curriculum.
There are enormous
inequities in the various unco-ordinated
programs dealing with these needs. In most
cases there are insufficient resources but
in some cases a student may be
over-resourced as part of the DET’s
out-of-court settlement in a
discrimination case.
Funding is subject
to review each year, placing great stress
on parents and an inability to plan
ahead.
Personal
Care
Demarcation disputes
over personal care have occurred between
teaching and health professionals, with
students having to take days off school or
parents having to take time off work to
attend to a student’s personal care
needs.
There is no
provision for personal care in tertiary
education institutions.
PDCN calls on the
State Government -
1. The NSW
Department of Education and Training to
implement the McRae Report, with full
consultation as part of the implementation
process. The McRae recommendations include
resource support which is:
- guaranteed for
the full school life of a student in a
placement of the parent’s choice;
- transferable
with the student;
- flexibly
deployed;
- an independent
appeals mechanism;
- an enrolment
policy which breaks the nexus between
location or resources and placement.
2. The NSW
Department of Education and Training to
introduce an accelerated program to modify
schools to provide wheelchair and physical
access. To ensure that all schools in NSW
will be accessible in 20 years, the
allocation from capital works needs to be
increased from the current $2.5 million to
$10 million per annum.
PDCN calls on the
State Government -
3. The NSW
Department of Education and Training to
ensure that:
- all TAFE
colleges are progressively made fully
accessible;
- TAFE Disability
Consultants are available to assist
students with physical disabilities;
- community
colleges are fully accessible;
- community
colleges offer support to people
physical disabilities;
- private
Vocational Education and Training
providers have fully accessible
premises before VETAB accreditation is
given and before they have programs
provided from them under Contracted
Training Provision;
- universities
provide access and support for students
with disabilities.
4. The
Department
of Transport
to ensure that:
- school bus
routes are a priority for accessible
bus deployment;
- students with
disabilities are provided with
wheelchair accessible buses for
excursions at no extra expense to the
school.
5. The
Ageing
and Disability
Department,
the Department
of Employment and
Training and
the State
Labour Council
to convene talks to settle demarcation
disputes concerning students’ health
care needs in school.
PDCN calls on
Teachers -
6.
The
Teachers’
Federation
to review its policies with regard to the
integration of students with disabilities
in schools and classrooms.
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