The option allows all schools - state, independent and Catholic - to consider past school misdemeanours and criminal histories of new student enrolments.

A similar law in Queensland allows principals to refuse school enrolments, taking into account expulsions and suspensions for inappropriate or violent behaviours.

But at-risk youth may be at further risk of disengaging with education under the move that will also discriminate against kids with autism or other disabilities.

Anti-Discrimination Commissioner Robin Banks said children with disabilities could be adversely impacted, while exclusion based on criminal history could be discriminatory if the record is irrelevant to the educational scenario.

Tasmanian Disability Education Reform Lobby Kristen Desmond said refusing to enrol a child with a disability could lead to them being tagged as a problem.

"Pre-labelling kids who may have had issues in the past is not really giving them a clean slate to start with," Mrs Desmond said.

"If a child has some behavioural issues it may actually be the supports in place at a school that are the issue and not necessarily the behaviours," she said.

Ms Desmond said suspensions for children with disabilities were common, and occurred after incidents where a child on the autism spectrum or with ADHD experienced sensory overload and acted out.

"If you are going to set up a model where there is more autonomy for a school to refuse enrolment then where are those kids meant to go?"

The option is being looked at in the state government's review of the Education Act, which the community have been encouraged to respond to.