Australian teen with speech disability sues his school district for years of alleged discrimination

From The Age in Australia:

A teenage boy with a severe speech problem is suing the Education Department for almost a decade of alleged discrimination, which his parents say has led to poor academic results and chronic frustration.

Meredith Woodward is suing the Department on behalf of her son, Druian Woodward, 13, a student of Monterey Secondary College in Frankston, who earlier went to Karingal Primary School.

Ms Woodward alleges the schools indirectly discriminated against Druian by not providing him with ongoing speech therapy and did not protect him from bullying. She also alleges the schools failed to develop a study plan appropriate to Druian's disability and failed to adequately support him.

Druian, who has severe language disorder and difficulty processing language, also cannot hear and understand speech in a noisy environment.

A statement of claim filed in the Federal Court by Druian's solicitors, Access Law, alleges that the lack of assistance offered to the boy "has led to his educational outcomes being severely diminished, to his participation in class being restricted and to plummeting self-esteem".

The department, which denies the claims, has imposed a condition that Druian be educated without help.

Ms Woodward is seeking damages and a declaration that the department discriminated against her son since 2001.

David Perkins, for Druian, told the Federal Court his mother was forced to develop Druian's study plan herself, while the family paid for a speech pathologist.

But the court heard that the department would argue Druian had access to education and was not at a significant disadvantage. A trial will be held in October.

The case comes after the legal success of Rebekah Turner, 18, a VCE student with a severe language disorder and learning disability, who was recently awarded more than $50,000 and given a full-time teacher's aide after she sued the department.