Do Better is a series from What About Autism built on one question: if we already know what a child with disability needs, why is it so hard to do it? Each episode takes one story from the evidence given to the 2024 NSW parliamentary inquiry into disability in schools (Report 52). This page collects every episode and the key facts.
I’ve been reading a report. It’s a long one, full of evidence from families, teachers, lawyers and advocates about what happens to kids with disability in NSW schools.
Some of it is hard to read. All of it should be read more widely than it has been.
The episodes
- Nobody got his headphones. A nine-year-old, a fire drill, and the headphones written into his plan.
More episodes are coming. Each one goes up here as it’s released.
About the report
Report 52 is the August 2024 report of the NSW Legislative Council’s Portfolio Committee No. 3 inquiry into children and young people with disability in NSW educational settings. Most of what follows is evidence the inquiry heard, not findings about any particular school. Paragraph numbers are given so you can check it yourself.
Why I’m doing this
My son Eden is autistic and non-speaking, and he’s at a public school that’s doing well by him. I know how much that depends on the people in the room. This series is for every family where it didn’t go that way, and for everyone who hasn’t heard what those families told parliament.
What the inquiry heard
of NSW public school suspensions in Semester 1, 2022 went to students with disability, who were 18% of enrolments.
para 2.50Exclusionary discipline was used on children as young as five.
para 2.13One child was suspended more than 10 times in three school terms over behaviour that was a direct result of their disability.
para 2.19A single parent lost their job after their child’s third suspension.
para 1.4of 745 families surveyed had experienced gatekeeping when trying to enrol their child.
para 5.23NSW is the only Australian jurisdiction that lets private schools discriminate on the basis of disability. The exception dates from 1981.
para 3.75of mandatory disability training for school leaders, on starting and every three years.
para 4.96of people who complained in one survey said their complaint was not resolved.
Vision Australia survey, para 6.128Questions people ask
What is Report 52?
The August 2024 report of the NSW Legislative Council inquiry into children and young people with disability in New South Wales educational settings, chaired by Abigail Boyd. It made 20 findings and 28 recommendations.
Are students with disability suspended more often in NSW?
Yes. The inquiry heard students with disability made up 18 per cent of NSW public school enrolments but 50 per cent of suspensions in Semester 1, 2022 (para 2.50).
Can private schools in NSW refuse a child with disability?
The inquiry heard that NSW is the only jurisdiction in Australia whose anti-discrimination law allows private schools to discriminate on the basis of disability, an exception dating from 1981 (para 3.75).
Keep reading
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Drawings in the series are illustrations. Stock footage, posed by models. No school, teacher or witness is named.
Sources
- NSW Legislative Council Portfolio Committee No. 3 – Education, Report 52: Children and young people with disability in New South Wales educational settings, August 2024. Paragraph numbers as cited.
