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Queensland's building six new special schools, but there's debate on whether they're needed
Jasmin Fawcett Clarke felt heartbroken sending her son to a school she believed didn't want him there.
Thorn, who was diagnosed with autism at seven years old, spent more time suspended than in the classroom.
Whenever Ms Fawcett Clarke's phone rang, a wave of anxiety would hit.
Emergency services would often be called to the mainstream school when Thorn became distressed.
The mum of three said it was a "pretty dark" time for the family.
She felt pressured to enrol him into a "special school" for students with a disability.
It would mean Thorn would not be at his local state school with his sister.
"Even financially, to be able to go to two different schools, it just wouldn't have worked," she said.
During this time Thorn asked his mum, "Why is my brain bad?".
But it all changed last year when a new teacher at his school started making small adjustments in the classroom.
"It's just phenomenal to be able to just send him to school and know that, even if it's a bad day, the police aren't going to get called," Ms Fawcett Clarke said.
However, the fate for other students with a disability has Ms Fawcett Clarke worried.
The disability royal commissioners were split on the issue of special schools in their final report handed down in 2023.
Since then, state governments have announced plans to spend more money than ever on special education.
Queensland's government last month said it would build six new special schools.
Kathy Cologon from All Means All, a nationwide multi-stakeholder alliance for inclusive education, said there had been a movement towards more segregated settings across Australia.
She said there were also new special units and classes being set up within mainstream schools.
"It is very disappointing, and extremely concerning, that we are seeing this trend towards segregation," Dr Cologon, an associate professor at Charles Sturt University, said.
She said the split view of the disability royal commissioners had "legitimised having opinions" on special schools.
"It is important to note that there was no recommendation from the royal commission suggesting that we needed more segregated settings,' Dr Cologon said.
All six commissioners of the disability royal commission agreed the current system couldn't remain, and that segregation in the schooling of students with disability should end.
Half of the commissioners recommended phasing out special schools by 2051.
The three other commissioners did not agree — instead, they suggested a stronger relationship be formed between mainstream and special schools.
The Queensland government announced the state's largest ever investment in special schools in history as part of its $21.9 billion education budget for 2025-26.
Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek said there had been a "clear demand for the schools".
He said the six new schools were set to be built in areas "they're needed the most", in the state's south-east, and would bring a combined enrolment potential of 800 students.
"We needed to make sure that we have adequate planning and access for parents who have their students that need to go to special schools," he said.
Mr Langbroek said the government's response to the recommendations made by the disability royal commission had not changed.
He said the government "certainly" wasn't going to close special schools.
Queensland Association of Special Education Leaders president, Andrew Thompson, said the new schools would help ease enrolment pressures.
He said some schools had seen their enrolments almost double in the last five years.
Mr Thompson, who has worked in the sector for more than three decades, said he had many parents at his previous school who were very concerned that special schools would close.
The former special school principal said the royal commission's split decision on special schools was the best outcome and believed it was an "indication of where society sits".
"Clearly, special schools are here to stay," he said.
"I've worked [with] some very, very complex kids over the years, and I struggle to imagine how they would be accommodated in the mainstream classroom," he said.
Australian Association of Special Education's vice president Sally Howell said the organisation viewed special education as a "teaching practice and a process, not as a location".
"Regardless of where children are going to school, their teachers need to have access to highly skilled special education people," Dr Howell, a former special school principal, said.
She said the "student always has to come at the centre of any decision".
"Some students do have incredibly complex needs, and sometimes a special school environment actually is the right environment for a student," she said.
Dr Howell advised that any placement in a special school should have ongoing review and evaluation to ensure it is "student-centred".
Ms Fawcett Clarke said she would like to see the state government invest the money into existing schools.
She said the "proof is in the pudding" with her son.
"This is just a child who's different, who has a disability, who just needs a little bit more support," the devoted mum said.
