Reasonable Adjustment? The intersection between Australian disability discrimination legislation and parental perceptions of curriculum adjustments in Queensland schools

Abstract

Despite the enactment of legislation in the area of disability discrimination, continued tensions are experienced between educational authorities and parents. This chapter details a proposed methodological framework for doctoral research, examining the possible source of these tensions: the meaning of the phrase "reasonable adjustments". A forensic linguistic analysis of this phrase is proposed considering how it has been argued in case law and, more recently, by a set of Queensland parents of students with disabilities who have sought legal remedy. A review of previous research in this field, the literature detailing the history of educational provisions for Queensland students with disabilities, and the complex nature of the legislation, reveals some of the reasons why the provision of reasonable adjustments is so complex for regular educators in Queensland classrooms. It is proposed an analysis of educational literature and policy as well as a critique of court and tribunal decisions will expose clearer understandings of "reasonable adjustments" to curriculum and how legal and educational interpretations of this phrase align and differ.