iPads for special students: Qld LNP

Special education students in Queensland will benefit from iPads in the classroom under a new initiative proposed by Liberal National Party (LNP) leader Campbell Newman.

"The LNP in government will provide tablets for use by students with special needs directly to state special schools, state schools and non-government schools with special education programs," according to policy documents.

Every state special school in the Queensland will see 20 of the tablets deployed for student use if the LNP is elected, while state schools and non-government schools with special education programs would receive 10 of the Apple tablets.

Newman's policy would see school IT departments administer the tablets.

"The tablets provided by this program will become the property and responsibility of the school to be covered under their existing IT provisions, and for connection with the school's existing internet," policy documents say.

The policy is a bid to ensure that students in Queensland state special schools get equal treatment to those in more "fortunate" institutions, Newman wrote, so that students can reach their full potential.

The Queensland LNP's plan for state government-sponsored iPads joins a long line of initiatives proposed by other state governments for the Apple tablets. Australia's education sector has a particular affinity for the device, with schools in South Australia, Western Australia and Victoria all trialling the tablets for e-learning initiatives.