Inclusive education is a right of all people with disability, provided for in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Article 24 outlines the right to an inclusive education, and can be seen below:

Article 24.1 of the CRPD provides:

“State Parties [including Australia] recognise the right of persons with disabilities to education.  With a view to realizing this right without discrimination and on the basis of equal opportunity, State Parties shall ensure an inclusive education system at all levels … .”

Article 24.2 of the CRPD provides:

“In realizing this right, State Parties shall ensure that:

1. Persons with disabilities are not excluded from the general education system on the basis of disability, …;
2. Persons with disabilities can access an inclusive, quality and free primary education and secondary education on an equal basis with others in the communities in which they live;
3. Reasonable accommodation of the individual’s requirements is provided;
4. Persons with disabilities receive the support required, within the general education system, to facilitate their effective education;
5. Effective individualised support measures are provided in environments that maximize academic and social development, consistent with the goal of full inclusion.”

In addition to Article 24, on the Day of General Discussion in 2018, the United Nations Committee on the CRPD defined some terms relating to inclusive education. In doing so, they provided a clearer definition of what inclusion is, and what inclusion isn’t. These definitions are part of ‘General Comment No. 4’.

General Comment No. 4 on Article 24 of the CRPD

Inclusion involves a process of systemic reform embodying changes and modifications in content, teaching methods, approaches, structures and strategies in education to overcome barriers with a vision serving to provide all students of the relevant age range with an equitable and participatory learning experience and environment that best corresponds to their requirements and preferences. Placing students with disabilities within mainstream classes without accompanying structural changes to, for example, organisation, curriculum and teaching and learning strategies, does not constitute inclusion. Furthermore, integration does not automatically guarantee the transition from segregation to inclusion.

Exclusion occurs when students are directly or indirectly prevented from or denied access to education in any form.

Segregation occurs when the education of students with disabilities is provided in separate environments designed or used to respond to a particular or various impairments, in isolation from students without disabilities.

Integration is a process of placing persons with disabilities in existing mainstream educational institutions, as long as the former can adjust to the standardized requirements of such institutions.

In addition to international law, inclusive education has also become an important topic in the recent Royal Commission into the Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability. Below are some of the recommendations made by the Royal Commissioners on inclusive education.

The two recommendations below, Rec. 7.13 and 7.14, were both presented to the government. The response to 7.13 was to adopt it in principle (rather than in practice) and there was no adoption of 7.14 in any capacity.

Recommendation 7.13 National Roadmap to Inclusive Education

a. The Education Ministers Meeting should publicly release a ‘National Roadmap to Inclusive Education’ for students with disability. The roadmap should:

• detail the outcome measures, targets, actions and milestones for delivering the Royal Commission’s recommendations for inclusive education
• provide public transparency on how the recommendations will be implemented and progress tracked and publicly reported.

b. State and territory education ministers should report annually to the Education Ministers Meeting on progress against agreed milestones and associated outcome performance measures in the roadmap. Annual progress reports should outline actions to overcome identified barriers to progress and be publicly released.

c. The Education Ministers Meeting should identify the National Roadmap to Inclusive Education in its 2024 report to National Cabinet as one of its priorities and include it in its workplan.

Recommendation 7.14 Phasing out and ending special/segregated education

Commissioners Bennett, Galbally and McEwin recommend:

a. The Australian Government and state and territory governments should recognise that inclusive education as required by article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is not compatible with sustaining special/segregated education as a long-term feature of education systems in Australia.

b. As part of the National School Reform Agreement 2025–2029, the Education Ministers Meeting should agree to:

• the phasing out of special/segregated education
• no new special/segregated schools being built or new special/segregated classes or units being included within schools from 2025
• a process for work on milestones and activities related to ceasing special/segregated education by all jurisdictions.

c. As part of the National School Reform Agreement 2030–2034, the Education Ministers Meeting should agree to milestones for phasing out and ending special/segregated education settings and financial penalties for failing to meet these milestones, including:

• no new enrolments of students with disability in special/segregated schools from 2032
• no new placements of students with disability in special/segregated units or classes from 2041
• no students remaining in special/segregated schools by the end of 2051.

d. The Education Ministers Meeting should update the Roadmap to Inclusive Education and Australia’s Disability Strategy to incorporate the milestones and actions to phase out and end special/segregated education settings included in the National School Reform Agreement 2030–2034.

e. The Australian Government should consider the design of a ‘Transition Fund’ under the National School Reform Agreement from 2028 to provide discrete funding to schools that require additional support as part of their transition journey, with clear performance and reporting requirements.

f. Consistent with phasing out and ending special/segregated education, states and territories should implement the following recommendations:

• when no students are in special/segregated schools, the sunsetting of:
  ◦ measures to prevent gatekeeping (see Recommendation 7.1)
  ◦ provisions to facilitate the engagement of students with disability enrolled in special/segregated schools with students and activities of mainstream schools (see Recommendation 7.4).

• to prevent stigmatisation and segregation of students with disability, ensure the careers guidance and transition support program for students with disability (see Recommendation 7.5):
  ◦ is delivered alongside careers guidance for students without disability
  ◦ has clear rules that no student with disability can be referred to work experience or employment through Australian Disability Enterprises.

These above are some of the law and recommendations that shape the work that we do, and that we will continue to advocate for! We hope this has given you a bit of an insight into what the legislation and evidence-based research says about inclusive education!