Editorial: Educational needs must get proper Govt funds

If pupils break the rules then they have made a conscious decision to do so. Photo / Getty Images

A classroom needs order before children can learn.

Disruptive students can derail a lesson and that's why parents rarely object to a school's attempt to impose high standards of behaviour. They realise that without it, their children's ability to learn, and to pass exams, is eroded and that the few who have no interest in learning are able to ruin it for those who do.

Most pupils also understand the need for strict standards.

They know the rules and the consequences of breaking them and they know why the rules exist.

If they break the rules then they have made a conscious decision to do so and they have to shoulder the consequences.

Things are less clear when other factors come into play.

Such is the case for Green Bay High School, which went to one of the country's highest courts to fight to keep a child with Asperger's out of the classroom.

The school was unsuccessful in its bit to try to overturn a 2014 judicial review that said the boy - who was expelled after scuffling with a teacher over a skateboard - should be allowed to return to class.

The landmark hearing was said to have implications for schools across New Zealand, as it pitted the rights of schools to prevent disruption in the classroom against a child's right to an education.

Court of Appeal judges dismissed the appeal.

I think it was the right decision.

The Human Rights Commission, advocacy group IHC, and Crown Law joined the court action.

The Disabilities Commissioner, Paul Gibson, said it too had become involved because access to education was a fundamental human right.

"This case raises the legal issue of the obligation for New Zealand schools to reasonably accommodate the needs of students with disabilities," he said before it went to court.

If the school had been successful in the landmark case then it could have placed children with behavioural difficulties in a position where they could be excluded from mainstream education. What would that say about our society and how we treat our most vulnerable citizens?

Everyone, regardless of their abilities, has a right to an education.

Perhaps the biggest question to arise from the case is whether enough support is there for teachers who are trying to balance the need to teach with the needs of students with behavioural issues.

Jen Puah from Aotearoa Youth Law - who represented the schoolboy in the court action - says the case reflected a large number of schoolchildren slipping through the cracks, partly because schools were dealing with stretched finances and were unable to meet all the needs of students with behavioural issues.

This is a major concern.

If not enough support is being provided then it needs to be addressed so schools, such as Green Bay High School, do not feel forced into a corner over this issue.

Other commentators have opined that this court case reflected the lack of resourcing given to education in New Zealand and that more support staff - along with other resources - is likely to be high on educators' wishlists.

While New Zealand schools need to accommodate the needs of students with disabilities, the Government should ensure they have the resources to do so.