Governments around the world use “parental choice” to justify keeping and building segregated schools. On 8 September, the Catalyst for Inclusive Education Programme will come together to unpack that argument and how our movement can answer it.

This is a meeting of the Catalyst for Inclusive Education Programme, Inclusion International’s initiative to help members promote inclusive education at country, regional and global levels.

Catalyst members will lead the discussion, while Inclusion International members are welcome to sit in and listen.

Date & Time:

On 8 September 2026, at 12pm UK time, the Catalyst for Inclusive Education Programme will have a discussion meeting.

That is 7am EDT, 1pm CEST, and 9pm in Melbourne.

The meeting will last 90 minutes.

What the meeting is about:

Earlier this year, Catalyst member Stephanie Gotlib started a conversation about how the Australian government uses “parental choice” to explain why segregated schools should stay open. Members from New Zealand, the United States, Canada, Colombia, Nigeria, South Africa and Spain replied to say the same argument was being used against inclusive education in their countries too.

This meeting is a space for the Catalyst team to unpack what “parental choice” really means:

  • why choice is not real when mainstream schools are under-resourced
  • why a child’s rights under the CRPD cannot be opted out of by a parent
  • why choosing a segregated school is not the same as choosing between schools on grounds of religion, culture or governance.

The discussion will also inform a position paper on parental choice that Stephanie is drafting for use in Australia. You can read the full concept note for this discussion here for more detail.

Attendance:

For members: you can register here to join and listen. Observers can ask questions through the Q&A and share comments in the chat.

For more information, contact Federica.