Leonie Harborne is prepared to take the fight for her son's education all the way to the Human Rights Commission.
Her son Scott is a severely disabled child - blind, autistic, epileptic, developmentally delayed and with a shunt in his brain.
After always attending mainstream schools, Ms Harborne decided in August to move him from Taieri College to Sara Cohen School.
While the move has allowed him to become more independent, happier, less violent and more talkative, it has also meant another battle with the Ministry of Education.
After being told Scott was kept isolated from his peers and was not being provided with what she believed was adequate specialist attention at the college, she decided to move him to the special education provider.
Scott was enrolled at Sara Cohen and Ms Harborne believed a four- to six-month transition period between the two schools would follow, allowing both him and the school to prepare for the change.
However, she was informed by the Ministry of Education that transport between the two schools would not be provided and she would have to choose one school or the other.
Because of Taieri College's lack of infrastructure for a pupil like Scott, she chose Sara Cohen, she said.
The ministry then declined an application for transportation funding to get Scott to and from Mosgiel and the Caversham school each day.
Special education pupils are expected to attend the school closest to them which can meet their needs.
The ministry believes Taieri College can do this for Scott.
Ms Harborne, who is on a benefit, disagrees and is now driving him herself, at a cost of $90 per week in petrol.
Because of her restricted income, she has cut back on food, and bills are going into arrears.
She has received a food grant from Work and Income, and one-off funding from CCS Disability Action, but "it's a hard living".
"We have to justify every little bit of help within the education department," she said.
An appeal against the decision is being reviewed and a response is not expected until next month (25 days from October 18).
Seeing the changes in her son since he has been at Sara Cohen, where he is integrated and is achieving things never thought possible, Ms Harborne knew it was right for him to be there, but desperately needed transport assistance.
Her and Scott's advocate, Terry Bartlett, said the review was unnecessary because Scott "has a right to education, as full and equitable as he can be given".
"Taieri College did not have the infrastructure and was not the most appropriate provider for him," he said.
If the application was again declined, the pair intended to take the matter to the Human Rights Commission and Education Minister Anne Tolley.
"They expect the families to justify themselves, but there is no accountability for them [the ministry]," Mr Bartlett said.
Special Education deputy secretary Nicholas Pole said the ministry could not comment on individual pupils' cases, but "the ministry provides financial assistance for travel to the closest school that meets a student's needs".
Sara Cohen principal Raewyn Alexander said four pupils enrolled in the school were from Mosgiel and two of them received transport assistance.
She believed Scott was "doing great" since starting at the school and hoped he would receive transport funding soon.
Taieri College principal Christina Herrick said the school was meeting Scott's needs and would happily accept him back if he wanted to return.
