22 November 2024
On 23 October 2024, People with Disability Australia joined 13 other organisations to endorse the All Means All submission to the Federal Parliament's Senate Education and Employment Committee inquiry into the Better and Fairer Schools (Funding and Reform) Bill 2024 (Cth).
Key recommendations in the submission include:
The Bill should set the Federal Government's minimum funding contribution to students in public education at 25% of the School Resourcing Standard funding (SRS), rather than 20%, with States required to contribute a minimum of 75%. This would safeguard the education of students in public education by ensuring that those students are guaranteed the base level of school resourcing they need to succeed.
The additional 5% of Commonwealth funding is required and should be committed to undertaking desperately needed systemic reforms to improve the capacity of schools to implement inclusive education that benefits all students and address the significant equity gaps in Australian education, particularly affecting students with disability, those from disadvantaged backgrounds, and those who face additional barriers to education, including:
- reduction in class sizes, an increase in non-teaching hours, professional development and capacity building to support inclusive practices, such as planning and delivery of targeted and individualised adjustments and supports for students who need them;
- the need for widespread implementation of universal design for learning, ensuring that learning materials and environments are designed to be accessible and flexible for all students;
- investment in delivering social-emotional and well-being supports, including for students dealing with trauma, socio-economic disadvantage, mental health or other barriers;
- investment in the development of inclusive and culturally responsive school cultures;
- the use of digital and assistive technologies in schools, such as communication devices, screen readers, and adapted learning tools, which are critical for students with disability to fully participate in their education; and
- upgrade of school facilities to ensure they are universally accessible and include sensory-friendly environments.
The Bill should also remove the allowance made in respect of the contributions of States and Territories, that permits them to count up to 4% of certain operational non-student-related costs as part of their SRS contribution. This allows States and Territories to artificially inflate their reported spending on public education without necessarily directing that funding towards improving student outcomes. While these may be legitimate education-related expenses, they do not directly contribute to student learning in schools and this effectively means that the true SRS level for students in public education will remain at 96%, thus not meeting the minimum level of required direct funding per student to ensure they have the school resourcing they need to succeed.
Increased accountability regarding progressing inclusive education should be embedded in funding agreements with States and Territories.
The Better and Fairer Schools Agreement should be amended to ensure "students with disability" are added to the list for Improvement Measures for Year 12 attainment and School attendance. This amendment would align with the Australian Government and state and territory governments supporting the vision for more accessible and inclusive education for school students with disability as articulated in Australia's Disability Strategy.
The submission has been endorsed by the following organisations:
Disability Clearinghouse on Education and Training (ADCET)
Children and Young People with Disability Australia (CYDA)
Community Resource Unit (CRU)
Down Syndrome Australia
Family Advocacy
Imagine More
Inclusive Educators Australia
People with Disability Australia
Purple Orange
Queensland Collective for Inclusive Education
Square Peg Round Whole
STAR Victoria
Women with Disabilities Australia
Access a PDF of the All Means All to the Better and Fairer (Funding and Reform) Bill 2024 Submission.
