Australian Coalition for Inclusive Education (ACIE)

Overview

The Australian Coalition for Inclusive Education (ACIE) is an initiative bringing together organisations that share a commitment to advancing inclusive education across state and territory education systems, including government and non-government schools. Our coalition comprises hundreds of people with disability and their families, teachers, lawyers and academics, representing a huge source of expertise in this specific area.

Image description: ACIE logo is a multi-coloured donut shape above the acie acronym and the words australian coalition for inclusive education.

Our pledge for inclusive education

“We pledge our support for the goal and principles of inclusive education as a fundamental human right of every person, and will work towards an inclusive education system and the elimination of barriers and discrimination against children and young people with disability in education and in society as a whole."

Latest news from ACIE

Our Roadmap 

‘Driving change: A roadmap for achieving inclusive education in Australia’  has been developed by the Australian Coalition for Inclusive Education (ACIE) and endorsed by many organisations around Australia.  

This is a 10 year plan recommending stepped change to realise inclusive education to ensure all students with disability are fully included in their education.

The Roadmap for achieving inclusive education in Australia has two key sections:

1. the outcomes that need to occur, stepped out over the next 10 years; and
2. the key levers for change needed to realise these outcomes. 

Our Roadmap is underpinned by six key pillars to help realise inclusive education in Australia and prevent the violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of students with disability.  These pillars are drawn from the evidence base and embed the rights of students as set out in the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

1. Ensure inclusive education
2. Demobilise segregated education
3. Increase educational outcomes
4. Stop gatekeeping and other discrimination
5. Eliminate restrictive practices
6. Prevent suspensions and expulsions

 ACIE is an initiative bringing together organisations that share a commitment to advance inclusive education in Australia and across state and territory education systems, including government and non-government schools.

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The ‘Driving change: A roadmap for achieving inclusive education in Australia’ has also been endorsed by the following organisations:

If you are an organisation and would like to endorse ‘Driving change: A roadmap for achieving inclusive education in Australia’, please send a message through the ACIE contact form.

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Inclusive education during a time of crisis

We acknowledge this is an extremely challenging time for all education systems, early childhood services, schools and post-school education providers in delivering education and support for all students, and that many are doing their best to include all. In the current climate and moving forward, it is imperative that stakeholders that protect and promote the rights and interests of children and young people with disability have the opportunity to come together to address the serious issues these groups encounter.

Key concerns

Below are the three key themes of the concerns that have been raised with us since the pandemic began, in relation to education and learning for students with disability:

1. The provision of reasonable adjustments and supports for students with disability, to enable them to access the general curriculum and their class lesson content on an equal basis while learning at home. Many families report that the support they are offered is inadequate or unsuitable.
2. The loss of vital social connection for students with disability with their class peers, regular teachers and support staff, which is critical in ensuring ongoing engagement and wellbeing during this time of crisis. Many families report difficulty in maintaining these relationships in the current environment.
3. The longer term adverse impacts of social and academic disconnection and the necessary measures to mitigate these and support re-engagement in class learning, and the re-establishment of relationships with teachers, support staff and peers once students return to school.

ACIE has developed an advocacy document for government, Providing inclusive education in a time of crisis: Principles and Recommendations.

This document has been provided to all education ministers across the states and Commonwealth and it outlines principles and recommendations to ensure inclusive education during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We have also developed a resource for families and young people with disability, Learning at home during a time of crisis: COVID-19 (Coronavirus).

Members of ACIE

Chair and National Convenors

CYDA, the national representative organisation for children and young people with disability, is the Chair of ACIE and a national Co-Convenor. All Means All – The Australian Alliance for Inclusive Education (All Means All) is the other Co-Convenor.

Core Members of ACIE

The Core Members of ACIE steer its work and comprise the following national, state and territory-based organisations:

• All Means All – The Australian Alliance for Inclusive Education (All Means All) – national
• Children and Young People with Disability Australia (CYDA) – national
• Family Advocacy – NSW
• Imagine More – ACT
• JFA Purple Orange – SA
• Queensland Advocacy Incorporated (QAI) – QLD
• Queensland Collective for Inclusive Education (QCIE) – QLD
• Tasmanian Disability Education Reform Lobby – TAS
• YDAS Youth Disability Advocacy Network – WA
• YDAS Youth Disability Advocacy Service – VIC.

Supporters

Our supporters are organisations that have endorsed Our Pledge for Inclusive Education and support ACIE’s mission. They include:

• Community Resource Unit (CRU)
• Sa4i – Student Alliance 4 Inclusion
• Starting With Julius.

ACIE’s guiding principles

ACIE is guided by a human rights and evidence-based approach to inclusive education. We look to the principles embodied in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the most authoritative expression of the human rights of people with disabilities, including the right to inclusive education under Article 24 and General Comment No. 4 (Right to Inclusive Education).

When we talk about inclusive education, we mean the delivery of education to all students grouped by relevant age range in general education classrooms, in a way that:

• addresses and responds to their diverse characteristics as learners
• provides reasonable accommodations and supports to ensure an equitable and participatory learning experience
• respects their fundamental human rights, including, in the case of students with disability, the right to an inclusive education in accordance with Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and General Comment No. 4.

Inclusive education does not include the delivery of education:

• in separate, segregated or self-contained environments
• in programs designed or used to respond to particular or various impairments or learning difficulties
• in isolation from students without disabilities, either in school or in community-based learning opportunities, including in separate educational institutions, separate classrooms or subsections of classrooms.

More information about CYDA's advocacy on education or you can contact us.