Resolved complaint (140) about victimisation in education

About the complaint

The complainant's two children have Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder, demand avoidance traits, and other processing disorders. She alleged that the respondent faith-based K-12 school and its principal did not make reasonable adjustments to respond to the children's behaviours of concern and disciplined the children rather than treating their behaviours as manifestations of their disabilities. She says that when she raised concerns, she was told that if she kept questioning the school's management of her children, their enrolment would be terminated.  

The school said the children were provided with reasonable adjustments and argued that it was reasonable to implement measures, including disciplinary measures, when the children's behaviour posed a risk to staff and student safety.  

The complaint was resolved. The school agreed to write to the complainant expressing its regret and apologies that she did not feel like she had been respected or heard. The school also confirmed that it would continue to review its policies and procedures about anti-discrimination and regularly provide staff with training on anti-discrimination and managing challenging behaviours.

Guidance on the use of these summaries

This is a summary of a selected complaint that has been resolved through our conciliation process. It's designed to help people better understand how complaints might be resolved and what outcomes are possible.

These summaries are for general guidance only and are not legal advice. If you need advice about your situation, you should seek independent legal support.

Please note:

• all complaints are de-identified
• complaints are resolved on a 'without admission of liability' basis
• some content may include confronting or offensive language.