Hazel Lloyd is homeschooling her son Taylor, but it wasn't her first choice.
Taylor, who has a disability, spent primary school in a classroom filled with his peers.
"He went to our local regular primary school down the road," she said.
"They provided him with enough support to be known and valued in the school and known by his peers."
But Ms Lloyd said the high school she enrolled her son in was less open to including him — so she took him out.
"Their intention was for him to be in that special education block," she said.
"After two years, I realised that they were not going to be changing anytime soon, and that they would not be offering my son an inclusive schooling experience in the way the policy outlines."
Ms Lloyd said while homeschooling has been a good experience, she would have preferred Taylor stay in a school with other students.
A review not enough
Ms Lloyd, who is also the convenor for the Queensland Collective for Inclusive Education, said her story is not an isolated case.
She is among the many parents calling for the Queensland government to make schools more inclusive for all students.
"It is a broken system for many kids," she said.
"So many Queensland students are not able to attend their local school, are still segregated from their peers, or are not being provided with the legally required supports to participate on the same basis as their peers."
An independent review commissioned by Queensland Department of Education into education for students with disability in Queensland state schools was completed in 2017.
The review provided 17 recommendations to improve the systems, policies and practices to support and build a culture across state schools to promote inclusive education.
The Department's said in a statement that all 17 recommendations were adopted and have now been implemented.
But Ms Lloyd said not enough had been done following the review.
"For us, as parents, we don't accept that," she said.
"There needs to be a culture change that goes along with that policy, where people are supported to understand the value of diversity and inclusion and the value that people with a disability bring to the school environment."
The difference a teacher can make
Brisbane parent Karen Reeves had seen the difference inclusion education makes, after a teacher saw value in her daughter.
"The teachers in the previous year did not seem to have the skills or awareness of the importance of having a child like mine in the classroom, or what a huge impact it had on her ability to learn and feel just like everyone else," she said.
Ms Reeves said her daughter had previously felt socially isolated at school.
"She felt different, and she didn't like being made to feel different," she said.
The year seven student — who has autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia and dysgraphia — wrote five novels in one year with the help of a supportive teacher.
"[The teacher] scripted for her, and she was able to keep the ideas flowing," she said.
"The teacher facilitated that by taking away the block of not being able to physically write it."
But Ms Revees said her daughter's experience was uncommon.
"This teacher, she just understood Jade right from the word go," she said.
"When I spoke to her, she told me that she was doing a Master's in inclusive education — you could just see the difference."
Education Minister Grace Grace said 95 per cent of children with disability in Queensland attend their local state school.
She said this year, Queensland state schools made adjustments for around 116,000 students with disability, 5,000 of these were in special schools.
A new disability resourcing model for state schools was announced this year as part of a "record" $16.5 billion education budget.
Starting in January, Ms Grace said Queensland will be transitioning to a game changing new disability resourcing model, providing dedicated resources and support to a further 30,000 students with disability.
"We are investing $80 million to support this transition over the next two years, which will fund 500 new front line positions," she said.
"A key part of this is giving families a choice. If families want to send eligible children to a special school, they can. If they prefer to send their child to their local state school, they can.
"The Palaszczuk government is committed to giving every single child in Queensland access to a world class education."
Queensland Teachers' Union president Cresta Richardson said meeting the needs of students with disabilities requires a "strong working relationship between schools, teachers, parents and caregivers".
"It's important every student receives a quality education and is treated with respect, much like our teachers in Queensland State Schools," she said.
"While state government disability funding in schools is increasing, it's extremely important to understand the impact of the current teacher shortage and the urgent need to address it nationally."
