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Students with disability

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Equity and Excellence: realising the potential of every student is our plan for every state school student, focusing on educational achievement, wellbeing and engagement, and culture and inclusion. Supporting our students, including students with disability, to engage in education is essential for our young people to thrive and to realise their potential.

We continue to monitor student outcomes and engagement as we know students who attend school regularly, are engaged in the classroom and progress in their learning are more likely to have better outcomes across their schooling journey.

The inclusive education policy outlines our commitment to support students in an inclusive and equitable education system.

All Queensland state school students have a right to attend their local state school, access and participate in high-quality education and fully engage in the curriculum alongside their similar-aged peers, supported by reasonable adjustments.

Who are students with disability?

Disability is defined in the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cwth) and the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (Qld). It includes a range of disabilities, including learning disabilities and health conditions. All disabilities, conditions or disorders can have an impact on the student’s functioning at school in a variety of ways. The student’s disability may be lifelong or temporary and strengths, interests and needs will be different for each student and may change for a student during the year and as they grow.

Schools collect information about students with disability in the annual Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD). This collection helps schools to identify, monitor and make reasonable adjustments for students with disability.

You can learn more about the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cwth) and the Disability Standards for Education 2005 (Cwth) on the NCCD website and more about the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (Qld) on the Queensland Government website.

Reasonable adjustments resourcing (RAR) allocation

Each state school receives a core allocation of resources and funding to support the learning needs of all students. In addition to the core allocation, RAR allocates additional resources to schools to support students with disability. The resources are allocated to schools, not individual students.

Resources are for all disabilities, including autism; intellectual disability; vision, hearing and physical impairments; dyslexia; attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; and mental health conditions.

Additional resources are allocated based on full-time equivalent enrolments for:

  • students who are recorded in the NCCD as having received adjustments in the highest 3 levels of adjustment (supplementary, substantial and extensive)
  • Prep and other new students to the Queensland state education system, where schools anticipate needing to make adjustments in the NCCD's highest 3 levels of adjustments
  • students requiring the most intensive adjustments at all times through the department’s Extensive plus category.

More information about RAR is outlined in our information for students and families fact sheet.

To find out more about the supports provided for students with disability, visit the following pages.

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Government response to the Disability Royal Commission

The Final Report of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability (Disability Royal Commission) was published in September 2023. The Final Report made 222 recommendations on how to improve laws, policies, structures and practices to ensure a more inclusive and just society that supports people with disability.

Following extensive consultation and careful consideration by the Commonwealth and state and territory Governments, on 31 July 2024, the Commonwealth and former Queensland Government released a formal response to Disability Royal Commission recommendations.

While there is a range of recommendations that will impact the Department of Education, the Department is responsible for leading work in response to 15 recommendations specifically about inclusive education. In response to these recommendations, the government:

  • accepted (either in full or in principle) 11 recommendations related to: participation in school communities; equal access to mainstream education; exclusionary discipline; policies, procedures and support; workforce capability; student and parent engagement; data, complaints and funding; and a national roadmap
  • committed to consult further in relation to 2 recommendations related to inclusive education units and stronger oversight and enforcement of school duties and
  • noted 2 recommendations related to phasing out and ending special/segregated education and an alternative approach involving co-location with mainstream schools.

The government response recognises the ongoing role of specialist settings and providing choice for students with disability and their families, with a commitment in Queensland to strengthening inclusive education across all settings. In line with this, the Department of Education will continue to provide inclusive education across a range of settings, including special schools. The Department of Education has further committed to co-locating planned new special schools with mainstream schools where possible and increasing participation of students enrolled in special schools with their peers in mainstream schools.

The Queensland Disability Reform Framework—The Next Chapter, which was released alongside the government response to Disability Royal Commission recommendations, sets out Queensland's disability reform agenda. The Framework​ and the full government response to Disability Royal Commission recommendations can be accessed on the Department of Child Safety, Seniors and Disability Services' website.

News and stories

What’s happening nationally, in the Department of Education and in Queensland state schools to support inclusive education and improve outcomes for students with disability?

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Help in your language

Call 1800 512 451 and ask for an interpreter.

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Last updated 27 November 2024