Schools need to have the power to seek money or a new needs-based disability funding model won't work, according to Scottsdale grandmother Bronwyn Bowen.
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"I hope that it's going to help, but we have concerns over who will decide what the students need. If it's the school who decides then it will be welcomed, but we are concerned it will be an independent expert," she said.
Ms Bowen cares for her grandaughter Telejah, who lives with cerebral palsy and has difficulty speaking and communicating due to her illness.
However, because it is a physical difficulty, and not a learning one, she does not qualify fur funding because her IQ is too high.
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Tasmania's system for disability funding is based on IQ, with those who record 50 IQ points or below are placed on the severe disabilities register and can access funding.
Those, like Telejah, who don't meet the IQ test requirements are not placed on the register and have limited access to funding, which is most often met by individual schools.
People with cerebral palsy have a life expectancy of between 30 and 70 years and Telejah has also experienced symptoms such as epileptic fits, which affect her ability to be at school to learn.
Ms Bowen said Telejah had enrolled at Scottsdale District School because the school had been inclusive and supportive of her granddaughter but the funds they need "are just not there".
"I can't fault the school at all, they have done the best they can, but they don't have the money."
Ms Bowen and Telejah moved to Scottsdale from Bridport to be closer to the school, because Telejah had to come home so often because of her illness.
She said what Telejah needed most was one-on-one support and hoped the move to the funding model would allow the school to employ that person to help Telejah.
However, she would be watching closely to see how the implementation of the needs-based funding model would roll out across Tasmania.
Disability funding support ranked highly as part of the Australian Education Union Tasmania's wish list for this year's state budget.
AEU Tasmania branch president Helen Richardson said the needs-based funding model would "require additional resources" to ensure all students with a disability can access quality education.
"Students with disability have been underfunded for many years and it is vital that there is increased funding to allow for the adjustments students require to achieve a quality education," she said.
However, the needs-based funding model should not stop there, she said.
"Additional funding for students with high and complex needs, for example, trauma, is vital. Tasmania has the highest level of need in the nation and more and more students are coming to school with high and complex needs," she said.
The state budget will be revealed by Treasurer Peter Gutwein this afternoon.
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