A teenager working on maths problems on a worksheet. Photo: Unsplash/ Joshua Hoehne
After 17 years the government has settled a human rights claim and admitted that Crown education policies and systems have discriminated against and failed disabled children.
In settling the claim the Education Ministry has agreed to a number of changes to its systems and policies, in an effort to give disabled learners the same education quality and experiences in school as their non-disabled classmates.
An external monitoring board will also be convened to oversee the changes, and hold the Ministry to account.
The claim was first brought in 2008 by the disability advocacy organisation IHC, after its previous attempts to improve the education system for disabled learners had not worked.
Settlement of the claim has been hailed as a win by disability advocates and the education sector.
Kathryn discusses the claim with IHC Inclusive Education lead Trish Grant and Berhampore School principal Mark Potter.
