On 31 July 2008 IHC lodged a complaint to the Human Rights Commission about Government practices which result in discrimination for children with an intellectual disability in their local school. You can read more about this complaint on www.ihc.org.nz.

On 29 March IHC met with the Human Rights Commission, Crown Law and the Ministry of Education to discuss the parameters within which mediation can take place. IHC’s complaint alleges that the discrimination experienced by disabled children occurs as a result of a mix of factors including education law, policies adopted by the Ministry of Education, practices both at the Ministry and at individual school level and the omission to take coordinating steps to achieve acceptable outcomes for all school students, regardless of disability.

IHC would like to thank all the parents, experts and schools who provided affidavits of their experiences in support for the IHC complaint. These affidavits sat in front of Crown Law and the Ministry of Education to represent the many participants IHC is representing in this case.

Crown Law and the Ministry of Education felt they understood IHC’s complaint better after the meeting. Crown Law and the Ministry are now going to discuss and consider the issues raised by IHC in the meeting and will notify IHC and the Human Rights Commission on their preferred next steps.

For more information about participating please contact:

Claire Stewart
IHC Advocate
PO Box 4155
Wellington

Tel: (04) 439 4782
claire.stewart@ihc.org.nz