News

IHC and the Ministry of Education have settled a landmark litigation case to enable the New Zealand education system to work better for disabled students.

The settlement resolves a claim filed by IHC under the Human Rights Act 1993 in 2012 alleging that Government education policies led to disadvantage for disabled students in local schools.

IHC Chief Executive Andrew Crisp says disabled students have not had an equitable opportunity to enjoy a meaningful education in New Zealand, and this settlement is part of fixing that.

“This is a strong starting point for long-term improvements to how the government supports disabled students learning at their local school," he says.

“Families, teachers and principals have told IHC over several decades that government policies led to exclusion for disabled students in local schools. With the stories and data contributed by those experts and people with lived experience, IHC put forward nine action areas for change.

“The Government's commitment is to implement that Framework for Action. This means that over time those students’ support and learning needs will be better understood and they will have what they need to thrive at school and beyond, just like their non-disabled peers.

“Discussions with the Ministry have been detailed and collaborative and IHC is satisfied that these changes can remove barriers and lead to long-term positive outcomes for disabled students. We now need to engage with people in the education and disability sectors to talk about what this means and how we can all contribute.”

Secretary for Education Ellen MacGregor Reid says: “The Ministry has committed to a Framework for Action proposed by IHC that addresses education system barriers for disabled students. We will work with a stakeholder group including representatives from the disability sector, Māori and Pacific representatives and whānau to ensure lived experience informs the Ministry’s work”.

“The investment of $750 million into learning support in Budget 25 is already significantly increasing early intervention and ongoing funding for disabled students, among other measures.

“We’re happy to have brought this long-standing litigation to a resolution, and we are looking forward to working with IHC and the disability community to deliver a better education experience for children and young people with disabilities.”

The Framework for Action requires the Ministry to investigate several areas of education and consider how they could be improved to support all learners, including those with disabilities, such as data collection and reporting, access to specialist support services, infrastructure and curriculum. The Framework for Action can be found on IHC’s website here and the Ministry’s website here.

‍

See Andrew Crisp's speech here.

Media inquiries:

Callan Lawrence
IHC Principal Advisor, Communications
022 012 7639
Callan.Lawrence@ihc.org.nz