Reasonable accommodation: Equal education for learners with disabilities

Abstract

This paper analyses the concept of reasonable accommodation which is integral to realising the Education Act 1989’s promise of equal education for persons with disabilities. Currently, that promise is undermined by discriminatory practices in schools. Reasonable accommodation is relevant to determining whether discrimination by State schools is justified pursuant to s 5 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990. It raises considerations of the effectiveness of any accommodation and burden of that accommodation on State schools. This paper applies those considerations to the facts of A v Hutchinson and Green Bay High School to conclude that discrimination in the disciplinary decision at issue was not justified. Having assessed that situation, this paper turns to broader policy issues of the limited effectiveness of the law in remedying discrimination by State schools and the need to upskill, educate and support educators to realise the promise of equal education.