Students with Special Needs Under Partnerships 21

Extract from Hansard

Legislative Council
19 October 1999

Mike Elliott
Leader Australian Democrats
Member of the Legislative Council

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The Hon. M.J. ELLIOTT: I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Treasurer, representing the Minister for Education, a question about students with special needs and Partnerships 21.

The Hon. M.J. ELLIOTT: My question relates to concerns raised by the parents of students with special needs over proposed changes to school governance under Partnerships 21. While the Partnerships 21 documentation makes it clear that curriculum delivery will remain the responsibility of the school principal, it also makes clear that the responsibility for funding services will be shifted to governing councils. I have been informed that Partnerships 21 draft services agreements place responsibility on school councils to implement appropriate intervention strategies for students with special needs. This has raised some concern as many parents fear that hard-won services will be lost in the transition. They also fear that these services may be hard to reclaim once they have to negotiate with individual schools rather than on a broader system basis.

Within an individual school, there may be only one family with a student with a particular special need, while across the system there is a far greater potential to lobby for and provide services. Further, due to significant time and energy demands made on parents of students with special needs, it is unlikely that they will be able to volunteer for the extended responsibilities of school council and guarantee that the services necessary are provided. The sorts of needs to which I refer vary greatly.

In the case of severe disabilities, the demands are often of a physical rather than an academic nature. It is of great concern that schools may not appreciate that currently more time of SSOs is often used in toileting and not teaching and that this will do little to redress this situation. In the case of more moderate disabilities, there is the problem of recognition as many are not recognised within current policy or the categories of disadvantages in Partnerships 21. This will make it even more difficult for parents to ensure that their child receives the support they need.

Of major concern are the grievance procedures that are available to parents if governing councils make a decision that is not in the interests of their child. There is no clear process detail, no time frame for resolution and no statement of who is ultimately responsible. Neither is there any indication of availability of independent advice to parents on their rights under the Disability Discrimination Act. With these things in mind, I ask the following questions:

1. What does the minister plan to do to protect the rights of students with special needs in schools that choose to sign on to Partnerships 21?

2. What equity assurances and grievance procedures were put in place for parents who are not satisfied with decisions made by school councils?

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer): I will refer the honourable member's question to the minister and bring back a reply.