Upon the announcement of the review of the School Education Act 1999 (SE Act), we decided to create a submission with the participation of students from around WA to show the changes students believe need to be made to make the Western Australian education system accessible and inclusive of students with disabilities and provide them with meaningful and equitable education.

The submission was contributed to by 29 students, all of whom are actively supporting a change in the way the education system operates to include students with disability. The students all opted to either participate in a video interview, or to send us a written statement. All students who gave video interviews are in the video submission that accompanies this written submission, and students who sent us written statements may either have their voices heard in this written submission or the video.

The submission was entirely student run and only contributed to by students. The students wanted to showcase and highlight their own experiences as disabled students in Western Australia, as well as the pattern that all of their experiences together show – a pattern that highlights the dire need of WA schools to shift towards inclusive education. The students who contributed were between kindergarten age and year 12 age, with the exception of one ex-student who graduated in 2023.