Education Initiatives

Review of Funding for Schooling

The Australian Government is currently conducting a review of school funding arrangements. The aim of the review is to identify the best funding allocation model for all Australian schools, both government and non-government, to ensure that funds are directed to where they are needed most.

In December 2010 the Government released an Emerging Issues Paper on the Review of Funding for Schooling. This paper outlined the major issues related to school funding that were raised by educational providers and advocacy groups throughout Australia. A leading concern that was raised was the inadequacies of funding for students with disability.

CDA provided an extensive submission to the Review. CDA believes the present funding available for students with disability is grossly inadequate and that the present education system does not realise the rights of children with disability as enshrined in the Convention on the Rights on the Child and the Convention on the Rights on Persons with Disabilities. 

Key recommendations of the CDA submission were:

• A substantial increase in the amount of funding provided nationally to support students with disability.
• The availability of a separate pool of flexible funding to provide additional support to students with disability at times of high need.
• Establishment of a family/school/community program that is specifically aimed at providing ongoing support and expertise in relation to the educational needs of students with disability.
• Portability of funding. This would ensure the same level of funding support is available at a school regardless of the sector (government or non government).
• Mandatory training on disability rights and social inclusion should be a priority for all employees of government education departments, education. Authorities and education providers.
• Inclusion of a compulsory subject on disability and social inclusion as part of the national curriculum.
• Every school should have an accessibility policy that outlines how they provide access to students with disability.
• The establishment of an independent audit system for individual education plans to ensure the educational needs of students with disability are being considered and met.
• A review of the post school transitional planning process for students with disability.
• The establishment of a system for collecting national data on students with disability who access distance education and home schooling programs.
• Requirement for specialised training and qualifications in supporting students with disability for all teachers and inclusion support workers

Copies of the CDA submission to the Review of Funding for Schooling can be viewed here or obtained by contacting the office on 03 9482 1130 or 1800 22 660 (regional and interstate callers) or a request can be made by email at info@cda.org.au)

Update for the Review of Funding for Schooling - September 2011

On 31 August 2011, the Review of Funding for Schooling panel released a Paper on Commissioned Research and four research reports, seeking further feedback in relation to the Review of Funding for Schooling by September 30 2011.

One of these reports Assessment of current process for targeting of schools funding to disadvantaged students, by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) includes significant content and recommendations in relation to funding for children with disability. CDA will be providing a submission in response to the recommendations of the ACER report. If you would like to provide CDA with your feedback on the ACER report please contact us on (03) 9482 1130 or 1800 222 660 (regional and interstate callers) or by email to info@cda.org.au. Alternatively you can provide feedback directly to the review of funding for schooling here. CDA’s submission will be made available online in October 2011.

Review of the Disability Standards for Education 2005

The Disability Standards for Education (Standards) were developed and enacted in 2005 to provide information on the rights of students with disability to access and participate in education and training. The Standards also give education providers guidelines on how they can meet their obligations to students with disability under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992.  The Australian Government is currently reviewing the Standards in order to determine how well the standards have worked in practice, and identify any areas of the Standards that need to be amended or refined. Submissions are now closed and the outcome of the review will be released later this year.

In its submission, CDA stated that it was of the opinion that the Standards have not met their stated objectives and that the present education system is not adequately meeting the needs of many students with disability.

Copies of the CDA submission to the Review of the Disability Standards for Education can be viewed here or obtained by contacting the office on 03 9482 1130 or 1800 222 660 (regional and interstate callers) or a request can be made by email at info@cda.org.au

About the Disability Standards for Education

The Standards cover the following areas:

• Enrolment
• Participation
• Curriculum development, accreditation and delivery
• Student support services
• Elimination of harassment and victimisation.

Each part of the Standards sets out the:

• Rights of students with disability in relation to education and training to help people understand what is fair and reasonable under the Standards.
• Legal obligations or responsibilities of education providers.
• Measures that may be implemented to comply with the requirements of the Standards.

The Standards are available online at www.ag.gov.au/disabilitydiscrimination or by calling 1300 363 079.

RELATED NEWS

New advisory group on school students with disability

On 7 September 2011 Minister for School Education Peter Garrett and Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Carers Senator Jan McLucas announced the establishment of a new Schools Disability Advisory Council to provide ongoing, expert advice on how best to support students with disability. Membership of the Advisory Council will be announced at a later date but will comprise representatives from peak disability organisations and academic experts.

The announcement was made during the 2011 National Schools Disability Stakeholder Forum held in Sydney on 6 September. 65 stakeholder representatives from the disability and education sectors, including Executive Officer of CDA Stephanie Gotlib, were in attendance at the forum.

For further information on the forum visit http://www.deewr.gov.au/Schooling/Programs/Pages/NatSchDisabilityStakeholderForum.aspx. or contact the Department of Employment, Education and Workplace Relations on 1300 363 079.

$200million funding boost for students with disability

In May 2011 Prime Minister Julia Gillard and the Minister for School Education Peter Garrett announced that this year’s federal budget would provide an extra $200 million to support students with disability in all Australian schools.

At the time of the announcement of this initiative it was stated that it would deliver new services, equipment and support including:

• speech and occupational therapy in schools
• special equipment in classrooms such as audio and visual technology
• additional hours of in-class support for teachers
• adapted curriculum tailored to students needs.

Further detail regarding this initiative is yet to be released. For more information contact Department of Employment, Education and Workplace Relations at www.deewr.gov.au/Schooling/Programs/ or call 1300 363 079.

Special education to be integrated into the Curriculum

Children with disability and special educational needs were not considered in the first draft of the National Curriculum that was released in 2010. The changes will include developing additional curriculum content and achievement standards that are suitable for students with significant intellectual disability. For more information contact the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) at http://www.acara.edu.au/acara_update_21022011.html or call 1300 895 563.