Bill introduced, and read a first time and ordered to be printed on motion by Reverend the Hon. Fred Nile.

Motion by Reverend the Hon. Fred Nile agreed to:

That standing orders be suspended to allow the passing of the bill through all its remaining stages during the present or any one sitting of the House.

Reverend the Hon. FRED NILE [4.18 p.m.]: I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I thank members for their support of this bill. It conforms with the United Nations' Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 23, which states:

any child with a disability should have access to, and receive, an education in a manner conducive to achieving the fullest possible social integration and individual development.

According to the International Dyslexia Association, approximately 12 per cent of the population are hindered in this endeavour due to significant learning difficulties such as dyslexia. To date, New South Wales government schoolchildren suffering significant learning difficulties have not always received appropriate assistance within the Department of Education and Training's Learning Assistance program. In some cases, children suffering from learning difficulties require specialised care. Hence, I have introduced this legislative measure to ensure assistance is given to government schoolchildren with special needs, which includes dyslexia, autism and so on. I wish to acknowledge the significant input of the community during the consultation period of this legislation. Those to be honoured include the many suffering parents who have contacted my office over the years. I wish to pay particular tribute to the inputs of Professor Max Colthart, Director of the Macquarie Centre for Cognitive Science, and the Academic Director of the Children's Hospital Education Research Institute, Dr Pye Twadell, and Dr Paul Whiting. Finally, and not least, I wish to thank Mr Jim Bond for his tireless efforts, over 20 years, to have assistance provided to those suffering from significant learning difficulties like dyslexia.

Reverend the Hon. Dr GORDON MOYES [4.20 p.m.]: Four and a half years ago I spoke about the need for educational support for dyslexic children. I followed that up, as can be seen in Hansard and on my own website, with questions and articles, as well as a second reading speech, hoping we would get some action on this private member's bill. At long last it comes before this House. Dyslexia can lead to a continuous stream of children becoming uncontrollable in school and at home through sheer frustration. Teachers may miss the signs and wrongly punish difficult children. Social conflict and unemployment follows. A disproportionate percentage of people in jail are dyslexic. In some neighbourhoods, especially in public housing estates, education is the main weapon to prevent children and teenagers from turning to a life of crime. If we do not take action, this creates a spiral of despair that leads to drug or alcohol addiction, prison, or death.

No-one has fought harder or more consistently to have dyslexia recognised as a disability and therefore eligible for educational department special support than Mr Jim Bond, a regular visitor in the public gallery, where he has waited for four and a half years for this bill to come to its final reading today. Along the way Jim has had some good victories. Recently, the New South Wales Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care was forced to apologise for discriminating against him. Staff at the department refused to help Jim Bond complete an application form to be a member of the New South Wales Disability Council. He has had victories over a Federal department and the Australian Protective Service. The Anti-Discrimination Board ruled in favour of Jim Bond, and the director general of the department was forced to issue a written apology. It has promised to conduct staff training about such discrimination.

I have known Jim Bond for six years, I have visited him in his home, and with his urging I have become an active supporter of dyslexic people and have lobbied the State Government to consider dyslexia as a disability. One in seven Australians suffers from dyslexia. The effects of dyslexia in society include unemployment, poverty, alcoholism, drug abuse and dependency, and even family breakdowns. This legislation is long overdue. According to the International Dyslexia Association, approximately 12 per cent of the population suffer from varying degrees of dyslexia. Paediatric neurologist Dr Gordon Serfontein says that children with dyslexia suffer from what he calls the "hidden handicap". Article 23 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child States:

Any child with a disability should have access to and receive an education in a manner conducive to achieving the fullest possible social integration and individual development.

The Department of Education and Training in the past did not recognise dyslexia as a disability and therefore did not provide appropriate support. To date, children suffering from dyslexia have been catered for under the department's Learning Assistance program, which provides one junior teacher or teacher's aide through the Support Teachers Learning Assistance program for every special education class. I would place on record my appreciation to successive Ministers of Education, including the Hon. John Della Bosca, whom I have lobbied for their encouragement. I would thank and congratulate the current Minister, the Hon. Verity Firth, who in this era of budget cutbacks achieved the impossible by having $9 million added to her portfolio in the mini-budget for special needs teachers. The package of $9 million will be spent on training 80 new full-time special education teachers to work with students with autism, mental health problems and dyslexia.

Recently, at a budget estimates committee hearing, I had the opportunity to ask the director general of the department to give certainty of this funding and asked what schools would receive an additional special needs teacher. The response to me by parents was overwhelming. I am grateful to the Minister for Education and Training and the director general for their commitment to a new era in providing for special needs teachers for children with dyslexia. In that regard, I refer honourable members to the answers given by Mr Coutts-Trotter to the questions that I asked him, in which he indicated the money had been earmarked, and that it would be put aside. I asked about the deployment of special needs teachers, and he indicated that they were being appointed at this time. He said:

We are developing a very detailed plan of implementation. This initiative will benefit about 265 schools. The leaders of those schools—in the first instance the principals—are being briefed in the second half of this week and then are getting into a process of planning to make sure that this is implemented well and implemented quickly, and that the children in those schools get the benefit of the initiative as they should.

He said that will be at the beginning of the first term of next year. I asked him could we be assured that the 250 schools actually would spend the money that had been allocated in the budget. Mr Coutts-Trotter replied:

With great trust comes great accountability, and increasingly schools have very tight accountabilities for what they achieve and what they spend. We will be working in partnership with schools to support them to ensure that they have good plans for implementation. It is not merely about saying, "You must do it"; it is about working together to ensure that it happens. So we as a department will be keeping a very close eye on it and we can report upon it.

I congratulate Mr Coutts-Trotter and the Minister for the expenditure of some $9 million, which will provide 80 full-time equivalent positions. Aligned to that, I had a look last week at what they were planning to do. I really appreciate that they have a massive task on their hands, but the Government is getting into completing it. The effects of dyslexia in society are the dreadful outcomes that I have indicated. Dyslexia is a disability. The Government will now provide support for such students. I do appreciate that the Government has decided to do that. This formalises the results that the mini-budget allows. I congratulate the mover of this bill, my colleague Reverend the Hon. Fred Nile, for introducing it, and I congratulate Mr Jim Bond, who has fought for it for four and a half years. Our vote for it today completes a very long battle.

Dr JOHN KAYE [4.28 p.m.]: I rise on behalf of the Greens to support the Education Amendment (Educational Support for Children with Significant Learning Difficulties) Bill 2008. I agree with the two members who preceded me in this debate about the seriousness of learning difficulties and the impacts that those difficulties can have on a student's ability to participate in education and in long-term social, economic and cultural outcomes. Addressing learning difficulties, including dyslexia, is an extremely important social objective, and one that needs to be pursued.

The one issue that I would take with Reverend Fred Nile's speech is the implication in it that work has not been done within public education to address learning difficulties. Yes, it is true that more could have been done. And, yes, it is true that funding has been, and I suspect will continue to be, inadequate to address the needs of children who suffer from learning difficulties. But let it not be said that there have not been hundreds, if not thousands, of teachers within public education who have, in innovative, intelligent and committed ways, addressed the issues of learning difficulties. Many children have gone through public education with learning difficulties, entered public education with learning difficulties, and have left with capacities way beyond whatever they or their parents thought could ever be achieved. There are probably many in this House, as one member just indicated to me, who are in that category.

It is true also that public education has failed some children, but we should not let this bill become an opportunity to say that nothing has ever been done. For decades special teachers—learning difficulty [STLDs] and support teachers—learning assistance [STLAs] have been employed within public education. Most of them are gifted professionals and they work hard. We do not have sufficient special teachers and we need more education to deal with dyslexia, but we are making progress. Teachers and specialist teachers within the public education system have worked hard to achieve quality outcomes for many, if not all, children.

I commend Reverend the Hon. Fred Nile and the Government for reaching an agreement on this and the final wording of the bill. It is an intelligent outcome and codifies the practice of providing funds and resources for children with learning difficulties. On behalf of the Greens I commend those who have campaigned hard for this outcome. I congratulate them on their tenacity, foresight and commitment to children who are disadvantaged and who suffer from learning difficulties. I commend them for this important step towards addressing the special needs of all children with learning difficulties in public education. The Greens wholeheartedly support the bill.

The Hon. TREVOR KHAN [4.31 p.m.]: It is with great pleasure that I speak on the Education Amendment (Educational Support for Children with Significant Learning Difficulties) Bill 2008. At the outset I take this opportunity to congratulate Reverend the Hon. Fred Nile on his work on this bill, which has extended over a considerable period of time. I acknowledge also the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, who has taken a keen interest in this matter for a long time because of dyslexia issues within his own family. To those who have experienced it, either directly or indirectly, it has a huge impact and creates considerable passion and emotion.

As a person who has suffered in a mild form from dyslexia, I have experienced first-hand the impact of learning difficulties associated with the condition. As an afflicted person, I wish to make one point very clear: for most people with dyslexia the condition is not a disability to their capacity to contribute to society, particularly when it is managed properly with early detection and intervention. As all members of this House would be aware, I studied law at a tertiary level and successfully practised law. I realised from an early stage how to cope with the reading difficulties associated with dyslexia. One does not overcome them; one learns how to navigate around the issues.

Dyslexia taught me to be meticulous in absorbing information and to learn to remember perhaps better than most people; it takes so long to read a document that one cannot miss the opportunity. I know that when working on committees some members recognise that at times I struggle to keep up with the pace because reading me takes so long. It is an ability to concentrate that gives people with dyslexia a great strength in other areas; once material is absorbed it is remembered by them far longer than by those who do not suffer from the condition. I conclude by making the point that I made earlier: I pay tribute to the many teachers who, over the years, assisted me in overcoming the condition.

The Hon. PENNY SHARPE (Parliamentary Secretary) [4.34 p.m.]: On behalf of the Government I am pleased to support the Education Amendment (Educational Support for Children with Significant Learning Difficulties) Bill 2008. I commend Reverend the Hon. Fred Nile for his interest and concern for the needs of children with learning difficulties in our schools and their families. As we have heard, the bill seeks to amend section 20 of the Education Act 1990 to include "children with significant learning difficulties" as a group of government schoolchildren with special needs to whom special or additional assistance may be provided. I am pleased that the honourable member has amended his original bill following consultation with a number of community organisations working with children with learning difficulties.

The term "dyslexia" is commonly used by parents and other professionals to describe a wide range of specific learning difficulties that impact on a student's ability to learn to read, write and spell. However, dyslexia is not the preferred terminology for groups who represent students with special needs. These groups include the New South Wales Federation of Parents and Citizens Associations, the Learning Difficulties Coalition of New South Wales, Learning Links Family Advocacy, and the Specific Learning Difficulties Association of New South Wales, which use the terms "learning difficulties" or "specific learning difficulties" to describe this group of students. "Learning difficulties" is also the preferred term for the Australian Association of Special Education.

Other New South Wales government departments, including the Department of Ageing and Disability, Home Care Services, the Department of Community Services and New South Wales Health do not include learning difficulties or dyslexia within their disability categories. Internationally, "dyslexia" is a term used to describe myriad learning difficulties not limited only to reading. There is no single definition of the term and currently there is no consensus in the literature about exactly what dyslexia is or what causes it. Most commonly, dyslexia is described in terms of its symptoms and/or in terms of what it is not.

Regardless of the diagnostic difficulties, all of us have a great deal of sympathy for children and adults struggling with these kinds of learning difficulties and for the families who work so hard to give them the best possible support in their education. The major issue with all definitions of dyslexia is that none provides an objective measure of the syndrome. The fact that there is no agreed test or diagnostic tool available to determine whether an individual's learning difficulties are due to dyslexia raises several issues around diagnosis. The International Dyslexia Association emphasises that in diagnosing dyslexia "it is very important that a persistent pattern of reading and spelling difficulties exists over a prolonged period of time". The International Dyslexia Association also acknowledges that there is no discrete test that can be used to diagnose dyslexia and recommends a battery of over three hours of testing by professionals such as psychologists, speech pathologists and educators.

In countries such as the United States of America, two critical conceptual elements within definitions of dyslexia must be addressed in any diagnosis. These elements are: first, a significant discrepancy between learning potential, typically measured by IQ, and academic performance, typically measured by standardised assessments of reading, writing and spelling; and, second, the exclusion of educational experience, environmental circumstances, sensory impairment, intellectual impairment and emotional disorder as factors contributing to reading performance. Using this method of diagnosis of dyslexia would therefore require psychometric assessment to determine an IQ achievement discrepancy, as described previously, and assessments to exclude any sensory deficit, emotional disorder, socioeconomic disadvantage, general learning problems and factors such as interrupted school attendance.

A major problem with this model is that, by its very nature, diagnosis is delayed until about nine years of age when a discrepancy can be adequately measured. Such a delay in diagnosis has catastrophic effects and the potential to harm more children than it helps, with services being delayed until a formal diagnosis has been established. A possible consequence is that crucial early intervention will be denied while children await a formal diagnosis. Under this model it may be that children will suffer the emotional traumas of failure for two to three years before diagnosis and intervention.

The Government is opposed to any classification that would also draw a distinction between students on the basis of socioeconomic, behavioural or environmental factors. In New South Wales public schools, no diagnosis of dyslexia is required for students with reading problems to access special education programs. The $134 million Learning Assistance Program of the Department of Education and Training provides an extensive range of services to support students experiencing difficulties in basic areas of learning. This includes students with dyslexia. Students do not need a disability confirmation to access support through this non-categorical program. This specialist program is available in all public schools. The program provides 1,378 specialist support teachers to support students with learning difficulties. It is school-based and resources are allocated every three years according to identified need.

The Vinson review entitled "Inquiry into the provision of public education in NSW", and the Parkins review entitled "Review of support for students with low support needs enrolled in regular classes", which were conducted in 2002, strongly supported a non-categorical approach to supporting students with difficulties in learning, including those with dyslexia. I note that other members in this debate have referred to this.

The Government is extremely committed to further improving our support for kids who are struggling with learning difficulties. In the recent mini-budget the Government announced an additional $9 million in funding to support students with special needs and their teachers. These funds will provide the equivalent of an additional 80 full-time specialist teacher positions in 265 schools across the State in 2009. These specialist teachers will provide support for students with complex additional learning needs, including students with autism, learning difficulties such as dyslexia, and behavioural difficulties.

I am advised by my colleague the Minister for Education and Training that this new initiative is well on its way to being implemented, with principals across the State now having been briefed. I understand that principals are extremely pleased with this initiative and that the new teacher positions will be ready to go in term one next year. The Government understands the growing need in our community for support services for children with special needs. We are pleased to be able to support Reverend the Hon. Fred Nile's bill, to better recognise the needs of children with significant learning difficulties, and we commend him for his advocacy on behalf of these children and their families. I commend the bill to the House.

Reverend the Hon. FRED NILE [4.41 p.m.], in reply: I acknowledge and place on record the work of teachers in the public school system and the non-government system. I do so lest Dr John Kaye and others have interpreted my omission of any such acknowledgement as an indication that I do not appreciate what teachers have achieved over many, many years. I am aware of what they have achieved, and I acknowledge the efforts of dedicated teachers in the public schools system and in the non-government system who have given many hours, and even additional hours, to help children with special learning difficulties.

I thank members of the House for their support for the legislation. I also thank the Government for the additional funding. In particular I express my thanks to members who participated in this debate—Reverend the Hon. Dr Gordon Moyes, Dr John Kaye, the Hon. Trevor Khan and the Hon. Penny Sharpe. Additionally, I extend my thanks to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition for his encouragement and support for the legislation. I commend the bill to the House.

Question—That this bill be now read a second time—put and resolved in the affirmative.

Motion agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Leave granted to proceed to the third reading of the bill forthwith.


Motion by Reverend the Hon. Fred Nile agreed to:

That this bill be now read a third time.

Bill read a third time and transmitted to the Legislative Assembly with a message seeking its concurrence in the bill.