Tasmanian parents today called on Prime Minister Tony Abbott to keep his promise to fund disability in schools. At the same time, the AEU released national research showing that eight-out-of-ten principals do not have the resources they need to educate students with disability.

AEU Tasmanian Branch President Terry Polglase said that Premier Will Hodgman must also keep his Gonski promise to increase (not cut) education budgets and to fight hard to convince Abbott to deliver the Commonwealth share of the full six years of Gonski – particularly the disability loadings.

“Parents, principals and teachers are saying there is a crisis in funding for students with disability and Mr Abbott has failed to keep his election promise to fix the problem by delivering extra funding this year,” said Terry Polglase, AEU Tasmanian Branch President.

“In Tasmania a critical situation for students living with disability has been made worse by Premier Will Hodgman sacking teachers and unleashing savage cuts to school budgets and support staff numbers,” said Mr Polglase.

The Gonski Review recognised a huge unmet need and recommended a disability loading covering the full cost of educating all students with disability be established as soon as possible. Both major parties committed at the 2013 election to implementing this loading from 2015.

Before the 2013 election, the Coalition promised to move in 2015 from a temporary loading that reflected existing, inadequate funding for students with disabilities to a needs-based measure that covered all students with a disability in schools for the first time.

“Unfortunately, the Abbott Government has broken this promise and has not delivered the funding that schools need to give quality education for students with disabilities,” said Mr Polglase.
The AEU’s national State of our Schools report, released today, revealed that 79 per cent of principals surveyed said that they did not have enough funding for the needs of children with a disability at their school.

This national sentiment is echoed by research done in 2014 by the Tasmanian Education Reform Lobby that found two thirds of Tasmanian students with a disability did not receive any additional support at all, including support from a Teacher Assistant.

“All the evidence points to a crisis for students with disability in Tasmania because of our Hodgman and Abbott government’s not delivering on their promises to invest in education and deliver Gonski in full,” said Mr Polglase.

“The Hodgman Government’s broken promises and education cuts have worsened an already dire situation for our most vulnerable students.”

“At a Federal level we need action from Tony Abbott in this year’s Federal Budget, so that schools can receive the extra funding they need for children with disabilities from 2016.”

“In Tasmania, we need Will Hodgman to fight hard to secure Abbott’s support for disability funding and for our Premier to act in his May budget to reverse his damaging cuts and ensure more Gonski funds reach the students most in need.”

Further information:

Tasmanian Disability Reform Lobby Parent Satisfaction Survey 2014: http://media.wix.com/ugd/9c55f1_45d687a78622453192a9e20f5ee0ae57.pdf
AEU Federal Disability Day research and media release: http://www.aeufederal.org.au/
Will Hodgman Gonski Pledge 2014: http://www.aeutas.org.au/Portals/0/Images/Campaigns/Gonski/gonski%20plegde%20-will%20hodgman%2014.5.14.pdf
Harriet Binet, AEU Communications