Children with Disabilities & Education - stories & links

Bullied boy can't go to new school because of high rent
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/wa/12773639/bullied-boy-can-t-go-to-new-school-because-of-high-rent/

A deaf boy who was bullied at his Mandurah school will not be able to start at a special-needs school in Mosman Park today because his mother cannot afford to rent in the area. Mitchell Wilkes-Douglas, 11, told how a "gang" of boys at Glencoe Primary School had verbally and physically abused him, calling him "a deaf mute". His mother Myra Smithers said her son often came home with cuts and bruises inflicted by his tormenters. "It was very bad," Mitchell said. "The bullies were throwing chairs and tables at me and swearing at me." As a result, Ms Smithers had organised a place for Mitchell at the Mosman Park School for Deaf Children. But the single-mother, who cares for her son full time, cannot afford rental accommodation in Perth.

Schools worried overhaul will cut disability funds
http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/schools-worried-overhaul-will-cut-disability-funds-20120202-1qvou.html

THE state government will overhaul the way it funds school students with disabilities and principals and parents are fearing vital teachers' aides will be lost, classes disrupted and students left to fall through the cracks. The changes follow what the Premier, Barry O'Farrell, described as a ''stuff up'' that left hundreds of students with disabilities without transport to school this week after contracts were renegotiated. The NSW Teachers Federation, in a fax to schools across the state, is warning of ''more bad news'' from the anticipated extension of a controversial trial program from the start of next term.

Thousands of parents illegally home schooling
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-28/thousands-of-parents-illegally-home-schooling/3798008?WT.svl=news3

As a new school year begins, more than 50,000 Australian children will be home-schooled and in most cases, their parents are doing it illegally. It is compulsory to send children between the ages of six and 16 to school, or register them for home schooling, but more parents are opting out of the traditional school system and keeping their children at home. However, thousands of parents across the country are not registered and that means they potentially face prosecution.