Ākona

We need your voice

IHC New Zealand wants to hear the stories of the discrimination that disabled children experience at school to support our legal action against the government.

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Either email advocacy@ihc.org.nz or tell us your story here.

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E hiahia ana mātou ki tōu reo

E hiahia ana a IHC New Zealand ki te whakarongo ki ngā kōrero mō te makihuhunu, mai i ngā tamariki whaikaha i te kura, hei tautoko i tā mātou mahi kōkiri take ā-ture ki te kāwanatanga.

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Īmēratia mai a advocacy@ihc.org.nz a tell us your story here rānei.‍

The bumpy road to inclusive education

All students with a disability have a human right to attend their local school, feel welcome and included, have access to the curriculum and fair outcomes from a quality education.
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For too long, disabled students have been disadvantaged by an education system that does not include them.

• No data: A major lack of information about disabled students.
• No framework: Ongoing flawed policies that hinder inclusion.
• No accountability: The absence of clear monitoring and evaluation.
• No training: Inadequate teacher education and professional development.
• No understanding: Disability-related behaviours are discounted.

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Te huarahi tāpokopoko ki te mātauranga mā te katoa

He motika tō ngā ākonga whaikaha katoa kia tae atu ki tō rātou kura ā-takiwā, kia mōhio rātou he kāinga tērā nō rātou, kia tomo hoki ki te marautanga, me ngā whiwhinga tōtika o tētahi huarahi akoranga kounga tiketike.

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Kua tino roa te wā e pēhia ana ngā ākonga whaikaha e tētahi pūnaha mātauranga kāore e hao i a rātou.

• Kāore he raraunga: Kāore he tino kōrero mō ngā ākonga whaikaha.
• Kāore he anga: Kei te haere tonu ngā kaupapa here tahangoi, whakapōrearea hoki i te haonga o te katoa.
• Kāore he tirohanga ki te pai o ngā mahi: Kāore kau he aroturuki, he aromātai mārama.
• Kāore he whakangungu: He koretake te akoranga kaiako me te whakapakari ngāiotanga.
• Kāore he māramatanga: Kāore i te whakaaetia ngā whanonga i takea mai i te whāinga kaha.

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What does IHC want?

Disabled children and young people should be able to enrol and receive an education on the same basis as every other child.

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That means having:

• A no-strings-attached welcome from the school principal.
• The necessary support to learn.
• Teachers who know how to teach all children.
• The right to stay at school all day.
• The chance to be part of everything that goes on at school, like camps and concerts.
• The right to have their learning monitored and to achieve.
• Changes to special education policy that result in schools having the resources they need to do their best by disabled children.

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He aha tā IHC e hiahia ana?

Me āhei ngā tamariki me ngā taiohi whaikaha kia rēhita, kia whiwhi akoranga hoki, rite tonu ki ērā atu tamariki katoa.

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Te tikanga o tērā:

• Kia pōwhiritia te ākonga e te tumuaki, kāore he tirotiro, kāore he whiriwhiri.
• Kia tika te tautoko kia pai ai te ako.
• Kia noho mai he kaiako e mōhio ana ki te whakaako i ngā tamariki katoa.
• Te mōtika kia noho i te kura mō ngā rā katoa.
• Kia whai wāhi ki ngā āhuatanga katoa o te kura, pēnei i ngā nohonga puni me ngā kōnohete.
• Te mōtika kia aroturukingia tōna akoranga, kia eke hoki ki ngā taumata.
• Kia panonitia ētahi āhuatanga o ngā kaupapa here akoranga whāiti, kia whiwhi rauemi ai ngā kura e tino pai ai tā rātou mahi mō ngā tamariki whaikaha.

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We’re taking the government to court

In 2008, after decades of work with the Ministry of Education to solve the problems, IHC lodged a complaint under the Human Rights Act 1993. We’re ensuring the discrimination that disabled students are experiencing are looked at by human rights law experts.

Our case had to go through the Human Rights Commission and then government lawyers wanted to “strike-out” key aspects of the IHC case. We had a hearing in the Human Rights Review Tribunal in 2015.

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Kei te hāmenetia te kāwanatanga e mātou

I te tau 2008, i muri i ngā ngahuru tau maha o ngā mahi tahitanga me te Te Tāhuhu o Te Mātauranga hei whakatika i ngā raru, i tāpaetia e IHC tētahi whakapae i raro i te Ture mō ngā Mōtika Tangata 1993. E whai ana mātou kia āta whakawākia ngā makihuhunu e tūponotia ana e ngā ākonga whaikaha e ngā mātanga ture mōtika tangata.

I tae tuatahi tō mātou kēhi ki te Kōmihana mō ngā Tika Tangata, heoi anō, ko te hiahia a ngā rōia a te kāwanatanga kia “mukua rawatia” ētahi āhuatanga taketake o te kēhi a IHC. I tū tō mātou whakawā i mua i te Human Rights Review Tribunal i te tau 2015.

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What is happening now?

After five years of waiting, the Human Rights Review Tribunal handed down their decision at the end of 2020. The Tribunal dismissed all of the Crown’s “strike-out” arguments.

This was great news! The discrimination experienced by disabled students with disabilities in education can now be heard by human rights experts.

Early in 2021, we had more good news – the Director of the Office of Human Rights Proceedings, Michael Timmins, agreed to provide legal representation to IHC. He thinks the way in which disabled students experience discrimination in their access to education is a serious matter of great public interest. Michael Timmins wants to talk with government about what they could do to better protect disabled students from discrimination at school.

The litigation is ongoing. Currently, there is no set schedule or timing for the actual hearing or when we need to file our evidence. We have been working through a “discovery” phase where the parties compile all of the material (documents, reports, multimedia material) that could be relevant to the case. This is a lengthy and complex process involving a huge number of documents, but it is essential and must be done with care.  

The next step will be evidence preparation. For this, we will need people’s stories and information. We are not at the stage of preparing those yet, but please let us know (on a no commitment and confidential basis) if you would be interested in being contacted at our evidence collection phase. Together, with our lawyers, we can guide you through that process and what it will involve.

Thank you to those who have already uploaded their evidence onto the IHC campaign website. We also welcome other whānau, students and educators uploading their information. We are also aware that the litigation process is slow-paced.

We will contact you once we enter the evidence preparation stage.

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He aha kei te haere ināianei?

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I muri i te rima tau o ēnei mahi me te tāringa roa, i puakina e te Human Rights Review Tribunal tāna whakatau i te mutunga o 2020. I whakahēngia e te Tribunal ngā tohenga “muku rawa” katoa a te Karauna.

He rongo ātaahua! Ka taea ngā makihuhunu ka tūponotia e ngā ākonga whaikaha i roto i te mātauranga te whakarongo ināianei e ngā mātanga mōtika tangata.

I ngā marama tuatahi o 2021, i tae mai anō ētahi atu rongo papai, kua whakaae te kaihautū o te Office of Human Rights Proceedings, a Michael Timmins, kia homai he rōia mō te IHC. Ki a ia, ko te āhua o te tūtuki o ngā ākonga whaikaha ki te makihuhunu i te huarahi ki te mātauranga tētahi take hōhonu, hei aronga tēnei mō te iwi whānui. Kei te hiahia a Michael Timmins ki te kōrero ki te kāwanatanga kia rapua ētahi huarahi whakapiki i te wawaotanga o ngā ākonga whaikaha, kei raru i te makihuhunu i te kura.

Kei te haere tonu te whakawākanga ā-kōti. I tēnei wā, kāore anō tētahi wātaka, tētahi rārangi wā rānei kia whakatatūria mō te whakawākanga ake, mō te wā rānei e tika ana kia tāpaetia ā mātou taunakitanga. E mahi ana mātou i ngā mahi e tika ana mō te wāhanga "tūhura," e tahuri ai ngā taha e rua ki te whakapūranga i ngā tuhinga katoa ka hāngai pea ki te take e whakawākia ana (ngā tuhinga, ngā pūrongo, ngā rauemi rongorau). He hātepe roa, he hātepe matatini tēnei, ā, he tini ngā tuhinga o roto, engari he mea taketake anō kia āta mahia māriretia.

I muri i tērā ka tae ki te takanga taunakitanga. Mō ēnei āhuatanga, e hiahia ana mātou ki ngā pūrākau pono me ngā mōhiotanga o te tangata. Kāore anō mātou kia tae ki te wā e tuhia ai ērā, engari e inoi ana mātou kia whakamōhio mai koe i a mātou (kāore he herenga kia whakaotingia, he kaupapa matatapu hoki) mehemea he pai ki a koe kia whakapāngia atu e mātou ina taea ki te wāhanga kohi taunakitanga. Ka taea e mātou me ō mātou rōia te arataki i a koe mā roto i taua hātepe, me te whakamārama ka pēhea ōna āhuatanga.

Ngā mihi ki a koutou katoa kua tuku kē mai i ō koutou taunakitanga ki te paetukutuku kōkiri o IHC. Tēnei hoki te pōwhiri nei i ētahi atu whānau, ākonga, kaiako hoki kia tāpae mai i ō rātou mōhiotanga. E mārama ana mātou ki te āhua o te hātepe whakawā- ā-kōti, he hātepe pōturi.

Ka whakapā atu anō mātou ki a koe ina tae ki te wāhanga taka taunakitanga.