Staying with the disability royal commission report, all commissioners said they shared this vision for an inclusive Australia, but they “reached different conclusions” on how it is best achieved.
Inclusion has to begin at school, many parents told the commission, as it heard harrowing stories of children with disabilities pushed out of the mainstream system.
Yet, the idea of phasing out special schools entirely over time, and bringing all kids with disabilities into mainstream schools, is one of the most controversial in the final report, with two commissioners dissenting.
Many experts argue there will always be a need for some special schools where students have very complex needs.
Others see the separation as segregation and say research suggests kids with disabilities have better outcomes, including in employment, after mainstream schooling.
Commissioner Andrea Mason said the issue could be considered on a case-by-case basis, while commissioners Barbara Bennett, Rhonda Galbally, and Alastair McEwin consider “segregating people based on disability to be incompatible with inclusion and believe it is unconscionable that segregation on the basis of disability remains a policy default in Australia in the 21st century”.
As our reporters work through the 5,000 pages of the report, readers can find out more about the split on special schools here.
