Jordon Steele-John (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Too many disabled kids are being excluded from our public schools. Just last week, over 900 school bags were laid on the steps of Parliament House in Perth, each carrying the story of a disabled student failed by our public school system or the voice of a teacher pleading for the resources to support them. We have seen this before. In 2022, a similar protest called for an independent review. The review produced 15 urgent recommendations. The government has only fully supported one. What many people may be shocked to learn is this: in WA public schools, it is legally permitted to deny the enrolment of a disabled child. This must change, yet the WA government has still not committed to doing so.

We must stop rejecting students because of their disabilities. For students at school, we know that the system isn't providing what they need to succeed. I've heard from parents and from disabled young children that school isn't safe, with bullying, exclusion and ineffective support plans. We need to resource our public schools better. We know that teachers are leaving the profession in unprecedented numbers. They are burnt out, lacking support and underresourced. Our educational assistants are also underpaid while taking on complex behaviour management, supporting disabled students and adapting and adopting curriculum on the fly. Disabled students are being denied the safe, inclusive education that they deserve. Inequitable access to education is a problem in this country, especially in WA. Every student in a public school deserves— (Time expired)