Section 3 explains the importance of valuing authentic disabled voice, and doing so by actively seeking feedback from disabled students, and by making feedback processes accessible, and making feedback spaces safe.

Students spoke about the need to have more disabled voice present in education.
Students discussed disabled voice on all levels, both within schools and Education
Department wide. Students discussed the need and the desire to feel more heard in
their own education, from the classroom to the system wide decisions being made by
the Department of Education.

On a school level, students need to be consulted in their own education to ensure
that their needs are being catered for and that their voices are being heard and
considered. As it stands, the SE Act only discusses the importance of parents in
education and decision making but doesn’t actually acknowledge the student.
Students with disability are the experts on their disability, their needs and the way
their brains work, and that needs to be acknowledged, and their feedback needs to
be taken into account and valued.

Students need to have an active role in their individualised education plans, and
need to feel comfortable and heard, so that they are empowered to give honest
feedback on what is and what isn’t working for them. Schools need to be actively
seeking the feedback of their students, as many students reported not feeling heard,
or having their feedback ignored, discouraging them from providing more input.