When do the Education Standards apply?

The Education Standards are broken down into different parts that deal with the different stages of a person's education - from the time you apply to enrol right up to the time you finish school or finish your course. The Education Standards make it against the law to discriminate against a person because of their disability in the following areas:

• When an education provider is deciding what will be taught in a course. An education provider must think about the needs of students with disability when they are deciding what will be in a course and how they will teach it. They need to think about what adjustments or different ways of teaching are needed that will help a student with disability to achieve the main aims of a course.
• When you are enrolling at a school or an education or training course. This includes requesting information or asking questions about enrolling.
• While you are at school or during an education course. This includes making sure that you have the same opportunities to participate at a school or in a course like other students. This means that education providers must make sure they provide support to students with disability participating in the course. education providers must talk to students with disability about reasonable adjustments that they might need for a course. This might mean adjustments to how the course is taught, what materials are used in a course and how students will be assessed.
• If you require support services. education providers must make sure you can access and use support services that can help you participate at school or in an education course.
• At the end of school or a course. education providers must make sure that students with disability receive the same recognition for their learning and training outcomes as students without disability. For example, you cannot be refused a certificate saying you completed a course because you have a disability when you can show that you have met all course requirements.
• If you are suspended or expelled. The Education Standards apply to situations where an education provider makes a decision to expel or suspend a person from school or a course because of their disability. education providers need to be very careful when they make decisions like this. You or your family or a support person should talk to a lawyer straight away if this happens to you.
• The Education Standards say Education Providers must ensure that all staff and students are aware that there are rules against harassing or victimising a student with a disability or their associates. Harassment and victimisation of people is illegal and Education Providers must take all reasonable steps to prevent this happening.