industry & reform
Commissioners Andrea Mason ( left ) and Dr Rhonda Galbally . Picture : NCA NewsWire / David Swift
‘ A lifetime of segregation ’
Disability commissioners fail to agree on education approach
By Erin Nixon
The Royal Commission into Violence , Abuse , Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability was unable to agree on an approach to phasing out ‘ special schools ’
The Commission released its final report on September 29 after four and a half years of investigation , including 32 hearings , nearly 8,000 submissions , 1,785 private sessions and a total cost of $ 600m .
The Commission heard from people with disability who shared their lived experience with personal and systemic abuse .
The report includes 222 recommendations for creating a more inclusive Australian society ; however , the commissioners couldn ’ t reach a consensus on an inclusive education path .
Dr Rhonda Galbally AC and Dr Alistair McEwin AM are the only disabled commissioners with close ties with the disability community , and both want special schools closed .
Dr Galbally and Dr McEwin argued that “ the deliberate and systematic separation of people based on disability constitutes segregation ”.
Along with Barbara Bennett PSM – who has a child with disability – they recommended phasing out segregated education by 2051 .
In an interview following the report ’ s public release , Dr Galbally expressed her disappointment that the commissioners couldn ’ t reach a consensus .
She also emphasised that the three commissioners pushing to close special schools had direct experience with disabilities , which should carry weight in deciding the way forward .
“ The two commissioners with disability are recommending this , and the other commissioner who is recommending it is a parent of a grown woman with a disability ,” Dr Galbally said .
“ I think governments will give really significant weight to lived experience , to the expertise of people with disabilities .”
INTEGRATING EDUCATION Advocates for people with disabilities were hopeful that the report would recommend ending the segregation of education .
So long as you have a dual system , there will be no incentive by the mainstream schools to improve , or make their schools more accessible
“ For disabled students and their families , all they wanted was to be able to go to the local primary school ,” Dr McEwin told the media after the report was released .
“ No parent has said to me , ‘ I want my child to go to a special school . It ’ s a choice they have to make , after considering a number of other options .”
Arguments for the phase-out of special schools state that education is about more than just academic outcomes and prospective employment .
Instead , a well-rounded education is about creating well-adjusted community members , and segregating the education system denies learners the opportunity to understand diversity in society and how it relates to the real world .
14 | educationreview . com . au