The Flemish Government and Its Role in Special Education

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1 Contribution of the Education and Training Policy Area to the first Belgian CRPD Report (Report on the Implementation of the UN Convention of 13 December 2006 on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) 1 General description and situation of the education system for pupils and students with disabilities in the Flemish Community 1.1 Special education In 1970, the issue of quality in education to children and young people with disabilities led to the adoption of the 6 July 1970 Act on special education. Under this Act, schools were established for children and young people aged 2.5 to 21 years 1 who are temporarily or permanently directed towards special education because of their educational needs and possibilities. The schools are organised on the basis of types 2 (nursery and primary education) and of types and categories of education 3 (secondary education). Pupil Guidance Centres (CLBs - Centra voor Leerlingenbegeleiding) have the authority to issue a statement of special educational needs (certificate and assessment report) which gives right to enrolment in a school for special education and/or access to integrated education (see below). Each school has concluded a co-operation agreement with such a CLB. This Act also provides for the right to free pupil transport to a school for special education. In the latter context, the Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism (Centrum voor Gelijkheid van Kansen en voor Racismebestrijding) has calculated that for children in special education it takes on average twice the time to arrive at school than for children in mainstream education. Schools for special education are not very well spread in Flanders. That is why the parents' choice is often limited and pupils have to endure endless bus rides and travelling times. A structural reform of pupil transport, in co-operation with the Flemish Minister for mobility, is included in the proposal of a Flemish framework of objectives for people with disabilities, which must be translated into concrete action plans in For four decades special education continued to develop. 1 If the welfare sector has no available care options for the pupil, he/she can stay on in special education beyond the age of Types: education adapted to the educational and developmental needs of children: - with a mild mental disability (type 1); - with a moderate or severe mental disability (type 2); - with serious emotional and/or behavioural problems (type 3); - with a physical disability (type 4); - admitted to hospital or in quarantine for medical reasons (type 5); - with a visual impairment (type 6); - with a hearing impairment (type 7); - with serious learning difficulties (type 8); Types 1 and 8 are not provided at nursery level. Type 8 is not provided at secondary level. 3 Categories of education Category of education 1 (types 2, 3, 4, 6, 7): acquisition of general social skills with a view to integration into a sheltered living environment. Category of education 2 (types 2, 3, 4, 6, 7): acquisition of working skills and social skills and training for work with a view to the pupils integration into a sheltered living and working environment. Category of education 3 (types 1, 3, 4, 6, 7): acquisition of knowledge and skills with a view to the pupils integration into a regular living and working environment. Category of education 4 (types 3, 4, 5, 6, 7): acquisition of the same knowledge and skills as in mainstream secondary education. 1

2 Today, this development ensures the right to education for children and young people with disabilities in Flanders. Only a very limited number of children and young people do not attend education because of their very complex problems. The 2007 data of the VAPH - Flemish Agency for Persons with Disabilities (Vlaams Agentschap voor Personen met een Handicap) showed that only 0.07% of school-aged children were "not attending school". The situation of children and young people with serious multiple impairments was discussed in 2008 by a working group of VLOR - Flemish Education Council (Vlaamse Onderwijsraad), a strategic advisory council for the education policy area. The outcomes and policy recommendations can be inspiring for future developments (see below). As a result of the development of special education during the past 40 years, pupils with disabilities attending education are mainly taken care of in a non inclusive education system of separate schools for special education. During the school year, 4.39% of the pupils in nursery, primary education and secondary education, went to special schools. These percentages strongly differ per education level: 0.78% (nursery education), 6.79% (primary education) and 4.24% (secondary education). This puts Flanders among the leading countries with a strongly segregated system of education for children and youngsters with disabilities. 1.2 Integrated education In 1986, the normalisation and integration idea led to the adjustment of 6 July 1970 Act on special education, which was now called the 6 July 1970 Act on special and integrated education. Children and young people with disabilities got the opportunity to attend mainstream education under the guidance of a special school. This form of support to pupils with disabilities also experiences a strong growth. These past 10 years, the number of pupils in integrated education (GON) increased from 1,522 pupils in the school year to 10,503 pupils in the school year. However, their percentage share in the number of pupils in nursery, primary and secondary education remains restricted, i.e. 0.95%. A limited group of 100 pupils suffering from moderate or severe mental impairments was studied in order to examine, in the inclusive education project (ION), the possibilities of working on the basis of an individual curriculum in (the common curriculum of) mainstream education. Both forms of support, GON and ION, are the subject of scientific evaluation research. The outcomes are due by late The policy on equal opportunities in education and the Flemish equal opportunities and equal treatment policy The Flemish Parliament Act of 28 June 2002 on equal opportunities in education conferred the right in principle to enrolment in a school or school site of choice to all pupils who, on the grounds of a statement of special educational needs, are oriented towards a type of special education. A school board of a school for mainstream nursery and primary education and for mainstream secondary education may enrol a pupil holding a statement of special educational needs for types 1 to 7, under the resolutive condition that sufficient support must be available in the school to meet the needs of the pupil concerned in the field of education, therapy and care. The school board decides to refuse the child after consultation with the parents and the CLB supporting the school. If the capacity of the school to admit the child is weighted, the following elements must be taken into account: 1 the expectations of parents with regard to the child and with regard to the school; 2 the real needs for support of the pupil in the field of learning areas, social functioning, communication, mobility; 3 an assessment of the support that is regularly available in the school in the field of care. The teaching team uses the opportunities available to meet the needs of the pupil concerned; 4 the support measures available inside and outside education; 5 the active involvement of parents in the different stages of the consultation and decision-making process. To a certain extent, this provision already implements what is meant in Article 2 of the UN Convention by reasonable accommodation: the right to necessary and appropriate modification and adjustments (here the right to enrolment in a mainstream school of choice) not imposing a disproportionate or undue burden (here (in)sufficient support). Legal advice about the implications 2

3 of the UN Convention (see below), in particular for this provision about capacity weighting, concluded that point 3 in particular runs counter to the provisions of the UN Convention. This Article needs adjusting in order to meet the stipulations of the UN Convention. The Flemish Parliament Act also contains a legal protection procedure. This is entrusted to local consultative bodies on which the most important local stakeholders in and outside education are represented. One of the tasks of the local consultative bodies is to mediate about refusals on the grounds of the school's lack of capacity. Representatives of people with disabilities may participate in a mediation unit, if the local consultative body approves this. If mediation does not lead to a solution and the child is refused, parents can lodge an appeal against this decision with the Commission on Pupils Rights" (Commissie inzake leerlingenrechten). This Commission is created by the Ministry of Education and Training. The Commission hears both parties and takes a decision. The Commission can present a proposal of sanction to the Flemish Government. The Flemish Parliament Act of 10 July 2008 providing a framework for the Flemish equal opportunities and equal treatment policy ensures equal treatment during the school career. (For more information on the content of this Act, please read the passage concerned in the Flemish contribution) Within the scope of the transversal equal opportunities policy, a framework of objectives for people with disabilities and related action plans will be decided on by the Flemish Government in 2011 through the open method of coordination. This means that, following broad consultation, the members of the Flemish Government will jointly decide on the objectives. Each of the Ministers will be responsible for the implementation of these objectives in his or her own policy area. In this way, each of the 13 Flemish policy areas, among which education, will adopt an equal opportunities approach to people with disabilities. Equal opportunities indicators will be developed for the new topic of disability so as to monitor societal progress in the field of equal opportunities for this target group. Education policy also pays attention to promoting accessibility of school buildings. Since March 2010, a new Flemish urban development regulation on accessibility (Gewestelijke Stedenbouwkundige Verordening inzake toegankelijkheid) is applicable. This piece of legislation is a big step forwards in making public infrastructure more accessible, when works requiring a building permit are concerned. The School Buildings Monitor 2008 (Schoolgebouwenmonitor 2008) 4 showed that 49% of school sites are not or to a limited extent accessible to people with disabilities. Only 30% of the school sites are largely or fully accessible to people with disabilities. There is still a long way to go to achieve full accessibility of all school buildings. Education actors help implement the framework of objectives for the Flemish equal opportunities policy which, among other things, aims at full accessibility of school infrastructure, with specific focus on new infrastructure. It is important that governing bodies - as good clients and responsible persons for school buildings - pay increased attention to full accessibility of their school buildings, and take initiatives themselves to 'screen accessibility' for the purpose of identifying bottlenecks for full accessibility and elaborating a phased action plan. 1.4 Higher education and students with functional impairments Support of students with functional impairments in higher education is based on four pillars. Students with functional impairments weigh 1.5 instead of 1 when the global budget of operating resources is distributed among universities and colleges of higher education. Students with functional impairments are students enrolled in VAPH. They only account for a small percentage of the total number of students with a functional impairment in colleges of higher education and universities (e.g. students with learning difficulties, chronic illnesses...) A second pillar consists of the 'Fund for the Promotion of Diversity' (Aanmoedigingsfonds voor diversiteit), established on 1 January For each institution of higher education, a management agreement is concluded and means are made available to develop an equal opportunities and diversity policy. A third measure is 4 Agion (2009) De Schoolgebouwenmonitor Indicatoren voor de kwaliteit van de schoolgebouwen in Vlaanderen (Quality Indicators for school buildings in Flanders) Garant Antwerpen/Apeldoorn. 3

4 the funding of the 'Inclusive Higher Education Support Centre' (Steunpunt Inclusief Hoger Onderwijs). This support centre helps institutions of higher education put inclusive higher education into practice. The last pillar consists of a social grant. This is meant to finance student services, to improve study conditions in the field of housing, restaurants, social support (loans, medical, psychological support...) The Flemish Government's Framework of objectives for people with disabilities to be approved early 2011, contains the operational objective to further develop inclusive higher education on the basis of VLOR's advisory opinion. 1.5 Special educational resources The Flemish Ministry of Education and Training supports pupils and students in mainstream education by making special educational resources available (technical equipment, Flemish Sign Language interpreters and writing interpreters, digitization of manuals, conversions in Braille and large character printing, software, adapted furniture...). 1.6 Ratification of the UN Convention and legal advice on Article 24 By signing the Flemish Parliament Act of 8 May 2009 on the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, drawn up in New York on 13 December 2006, the Flemish Parliament ratified the UN Convention. The Department of Education and Training has received in the meantime an advisory opinion 5 from the 'Law and Education Support Centre' (Steunpunt Recht en Onderwijs) 6 about the legal effects and the impact of Article 24 of the UN Convention on education. In particular, an evaluation of the impact of Article 24 on the right to enrolment in mainstream education and of the weighting of capacity as formulated in the Flemish Parliament Act of 28 June 2002 on equal opportunities in education (see point 1.3) was asked. The advisory opinion serves as inspiration for further debate about and shaping of a legislative framework for the right to enrolment in mainstream education and the support that is needed for this. The UN Convention and legal advice were already debated with the representative organisations of education providers, trade unions and the Flemish parents' consultative body (Vlaams ouderplatform) with, among other things, associations of people with disabilities. Social organisations and interest groups of people with disabilities advocate an urgent implementation of inclusive education. Discussions are held in the framework of informal policy preparations for the Learning Support file. The intention is to design a new reference framework for learning support in order to better deal with support needs of children and young people in mainstream and special nursery and primary education and secondary education. Participation problems of pupils are described on the basis of the interaction of pupil characteristics and the necessary adjustments of the learning environment. Here we link up with the new vision of disability. Some of the main objectives we wish to achieve through learning support are (1) facilitating the possibilities of mainstream schools to provide an education pathway to pupils with special educational needs on the basis of an individualised curriculum and (2) extending and deepening the special education provision, among other things in order to better meet the needs of pupils with serious multiple impairments. It is the ambition to start and finalize the formal decision-making process in For the executive summary and full advisory opinion on specific provisions with regard to education in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, please visit : 6 The Law and Education Support Centre (Steunpunt Recht en Onderwijs) is an interuniversity co-operative venture of education legal advisors who give advice on specific issues of education law at the authorities' request. 4

5 2 Specific reporting as requested in the UN Guidelines on the treaty-specific document (i.c. Art. 24 on education - inclusive education at all levels and provisions for lifelong learning) For each Article of the Convention, the UN has drawn up guidelines with elements which require specific reporting. With regard to Article 24, the following items are concerned. 2.1 The measures taken to give all children with disabilities access to nursery, primary, secondary and higher education The text below point 1 comprises sufficient elements on this. 2.2 Data on the number of boys and girls with disabilities in nursery education In the school year, 1,962 children enrolled in special nursery education. The boy/girl ratio is 67.58%/32.42%. By way of comparison: in mainstream nursery education (250,391 pupils), the ratio is 51.16% boys to 48.84% girls. In the school year, 1,715 pupils attended integrated education. The boy/girl ratio is 64.7%/35.3%. 2.3 Information on existing differences in education to boys and girls in the different education levels and on the existence of policy measures and legislation to work on these differences In primary education we see the same trends. Out of all pupils in primary education (407,902 pupils), 51.01% are boys and 48.99% are girls. In mainstream primary education (380,197 pupils), the percentages are 50.16% boys and 49.84% girls. In special primary education (27,705 pupils), the ratio is 62.70% boys to 37.30% girls. In secondary education, the following data apply: in total (448,760 pupils): 51,36% boys and 48,64% girls. Mainstream secondary education (429,745 pupils): 50,84% boys and 49,16% girls. Special secondary education (19,015 pupils): 63,23% boys and 36,77% girls. With regard to integrated education (all education levels, school year) the numbers and percentages are the following: 11,678 GON pupils, out of which 1,715 in nursery education, 4,809 in primary education, 4,741 in secondary education and 413 in higher education. The percentages boys/girls are 64.7%/35.3% in nursery education, 75.1%/24.9% in primary education, 77.9%/22.1% in secondary education, and 73.8%/26.2% in higher education (total 74.7%/25.3%). Scientific research often finds that boys, more than girls, are prone to various disorders. This is reflected in the overrepresentation of boys in the pupil population of special 7 and integrated education. It is not always clear why this is the case. The policy framework of non-discrimination and equal treatment of boys and girls (included in the attainment targets and developmental objectives) and the Flemish Action Plan on gender, sexual identity and accessibility with regard to infrastructure comprise actions to conduct an equal opportunities policy. These measures are also applicable to boys and girls with disabilities. 7 Van Landeghem, G., & Van Damme, J. (2009). Geboortecohorten in het buitengewoon lager onderwijs. (Birth cohorts in special primary education) Evolution from to Leuven: Steunpunt (Support Centre) SSL, report n OD1/ See: 5

6 2.4 Legislative and other measures ensuring that schools and materials are accessible and that reasonable accommodation and support required by people with disabilities are made available with the aim of facilitating highquality education and inclusion Elements about this are included in the text below point 1. We concretely refer to passages about accessibility of school infrastructure, the provision of special educational resources, the right in principle to enrolment in a school of choice, thereby taking account of the weighting of the (dis)proportional character of the adjustments required (weighting of capacity) and the legal advice about the consequences of Article 24 for Flemish education policy and practice and the debate conducted on this with education actors. The Ministry of Education and Training makes dyslexia software available for schools in mainstream and special education and supports the digitization of manuals through the ADIbib project. The authorities also pursue an ICT policy (cf the cross-subject and cross-curricular attainment targets and developmental objectives for ICT which also apply as developmental objectives in special education). The intention is also to support schools in the field of the use of ICT for pupils with special educational needs (e.g. the brochure 'ICT without limits' (ICT zonder beperkingen'). 2.5 Availability of specific skills training programmes for children, adults and teachers in the field of Braille, sign language, alternative communication possibilities, mobility,... These skills training programmes are mainly provided in the framework of special education or integrated education. Two schools for special secondary education are accredited for providing a training programme to adults who have developed a visual impairment later in life. In addition, there are organisations of people with disabilities which provide skills training (e.g. a Flemish Sign Language course of Fevlado - Federation of Flemish organisations for the deaf (Federatie van Vlaamse Dovenorganisaties vzw). 2.6 Measures taken to promote the language identity of deaf people Since the school year, deaf pupils and students can integrate into regular (secondary and higher) education with the help of a Flemish Sign Language interpreter and/or a writing interpreter. Since 2008, course participants in adult education and adult basic education can apply for interpreter support. From a recent evaluation, it appeared that the use of interpreters for deaf and hearing impaired pupils should be improved in several areas. This evaluation was partly carried out following the conviction of the Flemish Community, which was insufficiently meeting the right to reasonable accommodation of three deaf pupils, i.c. the availability of sufficient support by a Flemish Sign Language interpreter at school and in a class context. Pending the definitive sentence, the points for improvement are being dealt with. Addressing these points does not only have consequences for education, but also for other policy areas (welfare and work). Currently, a memorandum is being developed by the three policy areas, on the initiative of education, which contains a number of strategic options to improve support by interpreters (interpreters of Flemish Sign Language and writing interpreters) in Flanders. Attention will also have to be paid to the specific situation of higher education. These measures link up with the recognition of Flemish Sign Language. 8 Under the Flemish Parliament Act of 5 May 2006, Flemish Sign Language was described as the visualgestural natural language used by deaf people and Flemish Sign Language users in the Flemish Community and the bilingual area of Brussels-Capital. Deaf people were considered as a linguistic cultural minority group for which Flemish Sign Language plays an identifying role. In January 2008, the Flemish Sign Language Centre was accredited by the Flemish authorities as "knowledge and coordination centre for Flemish Sign Language". It has the intention to enhance, spread and apply the knowledge about FSL by promoting co-operation between sign linguists, the 8 Flemish Parliament Act of 5 May 2006 recognising Flemish Sign Language. 6

7 deaf community and professionals in the field and to increase in this way the societal recognition of FSL and its users. Finally, there is also an Advisory Committee on Flemish Sign Language which provides advice to the Flemish authorities on all matters relating to Flemish Sign Language or on matters which may have an impact on its use. The Committee acts on its own behalf or at the request of the Flemish authorities. 2.7 Measures taken to ensure that education is offered in the most appropriate language, while bearing the conditions, forms of communication and environments for the individual in mind. This belongs to the pedagogical freedom 9 of education providers. The authorities support schools by making special educational resources available (Braille, interpreters of Flemish Sign Language and writing interpreters, dyslexia software, digitization of manuals for the use of reading out loud software) and the general ICT policy with focus on the use of ICT for pupils with special educational needs. 2.8 Measures ensuring adequate training programmes in disability for education professionals and measures aiming at the inclusion of people with disabilities in the teaching team The Flemish Government Decree of 5 October 2007 on the teacher career profile and the Flemish Government Decree of 5 October 2007 on the teacher's minimum competencies are a framework for initial teacher training programmes to work on the initial competencies of teachers. Both the career profile and the minimum competencies of the nursery teacher, the primary teacher and the secondary teacher mention various competencies related to care for pupils with special educational needs. Eleven colleges of higher education offer bachelor after bachelor courses in special education and six colleges of higher education cater for bachelor after bachelor courses in special needs provision and remedial teaching. A bachelor after bachelor course in special education aims at offering additional training to school heads, teachers and interested education professionals so that they can provide guidance to children and young people with special educational needs in the educational learning process, both in mainstream and special education. The bachelor after bachelor course in special needs provision and remedial teaching is especially directed towards education providers who are interested in better developing, supporting and coordinating (among other things care coordinators) a school's care policy at school, class and pupil level. Apart from the initial teacher training and bachelor after bachelor training courses, there is a large provision of in-service training (whether for specific target groups or not). Schools are allowed to enrol for this on the basis of their in-service training resources. Professionalisation also takes place by building up expertise as a result of daily work and consultation with the teaching team in the school and with colleagues and support services linked with the school (CLB, educational guidance services, supporting staff members of special education, welfare and health care organisations outside the school...). There are no systematically collected data available about the presence of people with disabilities on the school staff. 2.9 Number and percentage of students with disabilities in higher education 9 By pedagogical freedom is meant the education provider's freedom to establish a school, provide education on the basis of a project with well-defined educational, pedagogical and possibly philosophic principles and organise the school in a certain way. For further information, please visit: 7

8 Currently, we do not have any systematically collected data on students with functional impairments in higher education. In the framework of the use of the Fund for the Promotion of Diversity (Aanmoedigingsfonds see 1.4), educational institutions for higher education will provide details on this in April At present, there is no uniform registration system of students with functional impairments. Nevertheless, there are fragmented data on the number of GON students (point 2.3) and students with functional impairments who get extra weighting (factor 1.5 instead of 1) when operating resources of colleges of higher education and universities are allocated (in about 0.1% of the total student population) Number and percentage of students with disabilities according to gender and field of study The data which will be provided by higher education institutions in April 2001, will give a better overall picture to the authorities Facilities for reasonable accommodation and other measures to ensure access to lifelong learning Special educational resources are also provided to people with disabilities in adult education. For some years now, colleges of art offering part-time education (DKO) set up temporary projects for pupils with disabilities. For the music and plastic arts course of study, projects on ortho-agogic music education, including music training and adapted visual training, are organised. Apart from these projects funded by the Flemish authorities, local authorities also invest in projects for people with disabilities Measures taken by the authorities to enable early identification of people with disabilities and their educational needs Schools are expected to conduct a care policy. Each school has concluded a co-operation agreement with a Pupil Guidance Centre (CLB). One of the tasks of the centre is to carry out a diagnostics (focus on categorisation and action) when pupils are confronted with participation problems in education. The Pupil Guidance Centre can work both in a demand-driven, i.e. take initiatives at the request of the parents or a teacher, and in a supply-driven way, for example, following compulsory medical examination or multidisciplinary consultation. If necessary, the CLB can draw up a statement of special educational needs, which gives access to a school for special education or integrated education. On the grounds of the typology of special education, 5.34% of pupils in Flanders are identified as pupils with special educational needs (special education + GON). 8