Since 1998 QPPD has participated in consultations and working parties and met with Education Queensland to discuss their policy "The Provision of Special Education Programs and Services to Students with Disabilities", more commonly referred to as the placement policy. We were concerned that the policy failed to provide a clear statement of rights, was vague and ambiguous and could lead to discriminatory practices. We sought through our involvement with the consultation phase to negotiate amendments to the policy to address these issues but had limited success. We continued to be concerned about the policy and at the QPPD AGM in October 2000 adopted a strategy around the placement policy as a priority for our work.

In 2001, QPPD published a report based on the findings of a phone- in conducted around Education Queensland's placement policy. This report was instrumental in bringing about a period of review, which has included Education Queensland state-wide focus groups leading to the Summit on Inclusive Education held in May 2002, the Ministerial Taskforce on Inclusive Education for Students with Disabilities, the revision of services and programs through the Action Plan, a review of ascertainment and the assurance that the placement policy will be replaced with a common enrolment policy.

In March 2002 the Senate referred the matter of education of students with disabilities to the Senate Employment, Workplace Relations and Education References Committee for inquiry. QPPD provided a submission to the Senate Inquiry into Education of Students with Disabilities and was subsequently called to appear as a witness at the hearing in Brisbane on 6th September 2002.

In our previous research parental choice in the decision-making process around selecting a school for children with disability was identified as being critical but vexed in nature. While 'choice' was ostensibly on offer to parents, it was neither encouraged nor actively promoted in the process. Parents, who exercised their right to choose a particular school, often did so in a negative, unwilling and unhelpful climate.

During 2003 QPPD undertook research to explore the process of parental decision-making around educational choice for parents of children with disabilities, to investigate how the policies and practices of Education Queensland affect this process and to identify and examine the impact and relevance of the process on families, students, schools and community.

A report detailing the results of the research, which exposes and clarifies some of the issues around educational choice for parents of children with disabilities, is available here on:
Choice Report 2003