Violet had lots of friends over to her 11th birthday party, where they all sang karaoke and danced to Taylor Swift.<\/p>\n
As well as music, she\u2019s into swimming and loves being around people.<\/p>\n
Just like her big brother before her, Violet attends the primary school nearest her home in Yeppoon on the central Queensland<\/a> coast. As with most students, Violet\u2019s education has had its ups and downs.<\/p>\n Sign up: AU Breaking News email<\/a><\/p>\n But this year, grade 5, has been \u201ca stellar, standout year\u201d, her mum, Shalee Gregson-Quinn, says. \u201cShe\u2019s got a teacher who really understands that Violet\u2019s got a right to be there, that she will have a superior education by being there.\u201d<\/p>\n Given that Violet goes to a state school, one might think that right is assumed. But it is not always so for kids like Violet.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just a by-the-way thing, but Violet has Down\u2019s syndrome,\u201d her mother says.<\/p>\n Which is what makes it so special that this vibrant young girl is surrounded by classmates who also see her disability as just a by-the-way thing \u2013 and a teacher, in Angela Hinds, who holds high expectations for Violet and works hard to ensure that she is \u201cincluded and engaged and happy\u201d.<\/p>\n Because those expectations help instil in Violet aspirations of the kind of \u201cordinary life\u201d that many Australians will take for granted: the chance to pursue meaningful work, to travel, to form relationships and make friends.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is life changing for a parent to feel that someone is so invested in your child\u2019s progress,\u201d Gregson-Quinn says.<\/p>\n So the community resources consultant is \u201cextremely disheartened\u201d by a government announcement that she fears will mean many other young Queenslanders will miss out on an education like Violet\u2019s.<\/p>\n In handing down its budget<\/a> last month, the Liberal National party\u2019s (LNP) first since unseating Labor after a decade in power, the government announced what it claims is the \u201clargest special school investment in history\u201d, with a pledge to build six new special schools.<\/p>\n This marked a significant change in direction from the 2018 high-water mark of a policy of including students with disabilities in mainstream schools, set out by then education minister Kate Jones, which advocates hailed as world leading<\/a>.<\/p>\n It is not just Gregson-Quinn dismayed by the move \u2013 the Australian disability discrimination commissioner, Rosemary Kayess, urged the LNP to \u201cscrap\u201d its plan to build more \u201csegregated schools\u201d on Thursday.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is deeply concerning that the Queensland government is blatantly ignoring all the evidence and expert advice in relation to the significant benefits of inclusive education for people with disability,\u201d Kayess said.<\/p>\n But, for the LNP, this investment in bricks and mortar is driven by at least two imperatives: one practical and one ideological.<\/p>\n All six new schools will be built near existing special schools in south east Queensland growth suburbs, such as Coomera, that have seen enrolments rise in recent years. The former Labor government actually strayed from its inclusion policy and built a special school in Coomera, which opened in 2022. Its enrolment has more than doubled: from 134 to 280 students.<\/p>\n \u201cSpecial school enrolments have increased by more than 38 percent since 2019 and we cannot ignore the growing demand from parents and carers who want to send their child to a special school,\u201d the education minister, John-Paul Langbroek, said in a statement.<\/p>\n But the new schools are not just a response to numbers \u2013 they reflect a guiding philosophy of this conservative government.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to Breaking News Australia<\/p>\n Get the most important news as it breaks<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n The premier, David Crisafulli, said earlier this month that he acknowledged the \u201cdifferent views\u201d on educating children with disabilities, but told the press he \u201cwholeheartedly\u201d believed in his government\u2019s policy shift.<\/p>\n \u201cI really do; I believe in it for those kids and, ultimately, I believe in choice,\u201d Crisafulli said. \u201cEverything I always do is about giving choice to an individual, and I think we have a real lack of special schools in this state.<\/p>\n \u201cBut, overwhelmingly, when I speak to teachers and when I speak to parents of special needs children, they want that choice \u2013 and we are going to give it to them.\u201d<\/p>\n