Anne McEwen (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

At the request of Senators Carr and Lazarus, I move:

That the following matters be referred to the Education and Employment References Committee for inquiry and report by 3 November 2015:

(a) current levels of access and attainment for students with disability in the school system, and the impact on students and families associated with inadequate levels of support;

(b) the social, economic and personal benefits of improving outcomes for students with disability at school and in further education and employment;

(c) the impact on policies and the education practice of individual education sectors as a result of the More Support for Students with Disabilities program, and the impact of the cessation of this program in 2014 on schools and students;

(d) the future impact on students with disability as a result of the Government's decision to index funding for schools at the consumer price index after 2017;

(e) the progress of the implementation of the needs-based funding system as stated in the Australian Education Act;

(f) the progress of the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability and the findings, recommendations and outcomes from this process, and how this data will, or should, be used to develop a needs-based funding system for students with disability;

(g) how possible changes as a result of the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability will be informed by evidence-based best practice of inclusion of students with disability;

(h) what should be done to better support students with disability in our schools;

(i) the early education of children with disability; and

(j) any other related matters.

Question agreed to.