This paper provides an outline of, and rationale for, an international research project that will identify commonalities and disparities in illegal school exclusionary practices in Australia and England. The aims here are to situate such practices within a global context and to map the events and processes through which children and young people,…

The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) (DDA) appears to offer powerful remedies to students who have been refused enrolment, excluded after enrolment or denied educational opportunities or benefits because of their disability. The Act prohibits discrimination on the ground of disability in the protected area of education and obligates…

The "Disability Standards for Education 2005" (the Standards) are subordinate legislation to the "Disability Discrimination Act 1992" (the DDA). They do not create new obligations, but seek to clarify education providers' responsibilities under the DDA and ensure that students with disability can access and participate in…

In 2005 New Zealand signalled its intention to reform legal services by contracting research on disabled people's priorities in Auckland. The Legal Services Agency reported that because many disabled people do not have access to necessary legal services in New Zealand their priorities should be identified. This article suggests that the social…

Assessment equity concerns all educational authorities and practitioners. When educators consider issues of equity, their predominant concern is accommodation of students with special needs, cultural issues, and creating alternative assessment activities that have equivalence to standard activities, so as not to advantage or disadvantage any…

Rights for people with mental handicaps include claim rights and moral rights, which are associated with routine discrimination and fundamental discrimination, respectively. In Britain, people with mental handicaps are routinely denied both types of rights. Greater protection would be offered through a "Code of Practice" and consistent…