Students are struggling. Teachers are burning out. Families are holding it all together with string.
And all of them are trying to survive in a system that wasn’t built for them to thrive.

Despite strong legal protections—including the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, the Disability Standards for Education 2005, and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities—students with disability and neurodivergence continue to face daily barriers to accessing a truly inclusive education.

We see this in every school:

❌Teachers graduating without training in inclusive or neuro-affirming practice
❌Schools expected to meet legal obligations with no funding, no training, and no support
❌Students subtly or overtly excluded from full participation in learning and social life
❌Teachers and leaders who care deeply—but are drowning in an under-resourced system.

This is not about bad intentions. It’s about broken systems, reactive policies, and a complete lack of accountability.

And now? Cuts to the NDIS are making it worse.

❌Families can’t access early intervention.

❌Children are arriving at school with unmet needs.
❌ Schools are expected to absorb the fallout—without additional funding or tools.

This isn’t a future problem. It’s a national crisis—and no one wants to look at it.

Teachers are screaming out for help.

Good teachers—the ones who truly get it—are leaving the profession in droves, burned out from trying to support students without the tools, training, or time.

Youth mental health is in crisis.

And parents? They’re stepping back from work or leaving altogether just to homeschool their neurodivergent kids because schools can't meet their needs.

That’s fewer taxes paid, more families in financial stress, and long-term economic consequences no one seems willing to talk about.

But we should be.

Because this isn’t just an education issue—it’s a social, mental health, and economic one too.

We call on Federal and State Governments to act—urgently—by:
✅ Making inclusive education training mandatory in all teacher prep programs, and ongoing for current staff
✅ Strengthening enforcement of the Disability Standards for Education with clearer monitoring, complaints pathways, and school accountability
✅ Designing classrooms that embrace neurodiversity from day one—not relying on inconsistent, reactive adjustments
✅ Increasing funding and coaching support so schools can meet the needs of all learners without burning out educators and families
✅ Committing to implement the recommendations of the Disability Royal Commission—not just filing them away

 
Australia has the legislation.
What we need now is leadership—and real investment to turn inclusive education from a policy into a lived reality.

Because inclusive education isn’t just a line in a strategy plan.
It’s a human right.

We’re calling on teachers, allied health professionals, school leaders, families and allies across Australia to join us.

📢 Sign and share this petition and demand real reform—so every child, in every school, can belong and thrive.

Petition by Jane McFadden, ADHD Mums (www.adhdmums.com.au and Millie Carr, Unmasking Education (https://www.instagram.com/unmasking.education/