Access to Education

DPOV supports the rights of students with disabilities to inclusive education, as set out in the UNCRPD, and is against the segregation of students with disabilities, with the exception of deaf/hard of hearing students.

We support the views of Commissioners Bennett, Galbally and McEwin from the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disabilities, who consider “the segregation of people with disabilities, including in education to be a significant human rights issue linked with violence against, and the abuse, neglect and exploitation of, people with disability”.[1]

These views are evidenced in the ever-increasing rates of violence against students with disabilities in Victorian government schools.[2]

We allege, particularly in segregated schools, the low expectations of students with disabilities, and the consistent failure to assume capacity.

We reject the consistent discrimination against students with disabilities, including the denial of their right to communication, either through Auslan interpreters, Augmentative and Alternative Communication, or through other means.

DPOV calls for significant and increased funding to all government schools to ensure students with disabilities have the same opportunities to be educated as their nondisabled peers. It calls for the adoption of General Comment 4, supporting Article 24 of the UNCRPD, by the Victorian Department of Education. We support the closing of segregated school settings.

[1] Volume 7, Part A, p79

[2] Department of Education Restrictive Practices Data to 2024.

Deaf/hard of hearing education

We support the World Federation of the Deaf Position on the Right to Inclusive Quality Education in National Sign Languages.

Article 24 of the CRPD read conjointly with Articles 21 and 30 requires States Parties to provide inclusive multilingual education to deaf learners following those principles: 

  1. Education must be provided in the national sign language(s) and national written language(s); 
  2. The school must follow the official governmental curriculum and maximise the learning potential of deaf learners; 
  3. Teachers must master the national sign language(s) with a native-level proficiency; 
  4. Deaf learners must be surrounded by their deaf peers and deaf adult role models.

These four principles enable the provision of language-rich environments in which deaf learners can reach their full potential. Inclusion must be more than a physical placement. Inclusion is about belonging and about realising one’s full potential. Access to a common language environment is a necessary and essential first step in achieving inclusion for deaf learners.