Memorandum from the Centre for Studies
on Inclusive Education (CSIE) (DDB 46)
1. TAKING STEPS
UNDER THE
DDA TOWARDS A
STRONGER LEGAL
FRAMEWORK FOR
DEVELOPING INCLUSIVE
EDUCATION AND
ENDING SEGREGATED
SCHOOLING
(a) Despite progress in the last 20 years
towards more inclusive education, segregation persists as institutional
discrimination.
The fundamental human right to inclusion of
many thousands of children and young people in the UK is routinely
violated by placement in separate special schools and pupil referral
units. Access to mainstream, although greatly improved, is still
in jeopardy if parents are against it or if a pupil's "special
educational needs" can not be prevented from adversely affecting
others.
(b) The overall goal of the Centre for Studies
on Inclusive Education CSIE is the phasing out of segregated educational
settings and the development of a restructured, inclusive mainstream
system capable of providing appropriate support for all pupils
in their local areas. This would involve reform of both disability
discrimination and education law to:
— make appropriate support for learning
a legal entitlement for all students in local mainstream schools;
— remove the remaining constraints
on access to the mainstream; and
— remove LEA powers to run separate,
special schools.
(c) While the Centre welcomes the important
moves in the draft Disability Discrimination Bill towards basic
rights for disabled people which will enhance their life opportunities
we regret that the discrimination inherent in separate special
schooling for disabled pupils and perpetuated by them is not covered
by the draft Bill.
(d) It is our view, based on evidence, that
segregated "special" schooling is not only itself discriminatory
under human rights principles but perpetuates discrimination,
devaluation, stigmatisation, stereotyping, prejudice and isolation—the
very conditions which disabled adults identify as among the biggest
barriers to respect, participation and a full life. This discrimination
is maintained even though there is no compelling body of evidence
that segregated "special" education programmes have
significant benefits for students. (Please see the following CSIE
publications for further background material: The Human Rights
Approach to Inclusive Education; The Case Against Segregation
in Special Schools—A Look At the Evidence; Reasons Against
Segregated Schooling; and Reference List for The Arguments Against
Segregated Schooling).
(e) It is CSIE's recommendation that the
draft bill should take steps towards removal of the final legal
barriers to mainstream schooling and the phasing out of separate
special schools by 2020 as part of its measures against disability
discrimination. Disability discrimination law should also play
a part in ensuring that appropriate mainstream education is guaranteed
by law for all pupils within their local areas without resort
to current assessment and "statementing" procedures
to obtain necessary support. In our view these assessment and
"statementing" procedures are based on an outdated medical
view of disability as individual defect which is a barrier to
inclusion. Inclusion in local mainstream schools with appropriate
support needs to become a matter of routine entitlement for all
pupils not subject to stressful—and we would argue stigmatizing
and discriminatory—procedures for some.
(f) The Disability Rights Commission has
set out a short-term and reducing role for special schools and
called for their ongoing evaluation in relation to development
towards a more inclusive mainstream education service. The Government
has also acknowledged that their current ten year strategy for
special educational needs, which proposes retaining separate "special"
schooling for disabled pupils with serious and complex needs,
may be open to review in the light of mainstream development.
(g) Moves towards reforming disability discrimination
law and education law to a framework as outlined in our evidence
to the joint committee would, in our view, have three main advantages:
— It would provide considerable incentive
for mainstream schools to move ahead with making themselves fully
accessible to all.
— It would allow for the transfer of
existing resources from "special" to mainstream settings
and target the vast majority of new investment into the mainstream.
— It would guard against possible "dumping"
of disabled pupils in mainstream without appropriate support,
while avoiding stressful, stigmatizing and discriminatory "statementing"
procedures.
(h) If such reforms are not made we are
concerned that the commitment and creativity of mainstream schools
to fulfill their human rights responsibilities and include the
full diversity of pupils will be weakened and they will continue
to find it easier to turn to separate "special" schools
to handle learning situations they perceive as too difficult.
2. EXTENDING
THE PROVISIONS
OF THE
DDA TO COVER
EXAMINING BODIES
(a) The Disability Rights Commission has
made a convincing argument that failure to include examination
bodies in the scope of the DDA leaves a substantial gap in the
legislation, puts disabled students at an unfair disadvantage
and prevents them from progressing into their chosen area of work
or study.
(b) CSIE's own experience and contact with
students supports the DDA's evidence that some disabled students
have difficulties in getting their needs met in examinations and
are unable to turn to the law for redress. We consider current
voluntary arrangements for adjustments for disabled students as
regulated by the Joint Council for General Qualifications Bodies
and the Scottish Qualifications Authority are inadequate in practice
for safeguarding the rights of disabled students and strongly
recommend that the draft bill should set out provisions for bringing
examination bodies within scope of discrimination legislation.
February 2004
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