APAJH -

Duration and conduct of the debate: 110 minutes (max. 2h).
This duration can be modulated according to the richness of the interventions and to the number of participants.

15 minutes task explanation, distribution of ressource sheets
45 minutes left to the participants to think about the questions asked and to consult the resource sheets.
30 minutes – debate

At the end of the debate, 20 minutes are devoted to ordering and synthesizing the interventions.

A debate moderator must be appointed at the beginning of the session.

Content

According to September 2018 data, this convention has been signed by 177 countries in the world and 92 have ratified it see the convention . The European Union ratified the convention in 2010. In the immediate future, educational policies of member states will have to draw heavy inspiration from the recommendations of this charter, especially since national legislations in this matter, where these exist, are very heterogeneous.

It is therefore important to highlight its guiding principles in order to measure their consequences on educational policies.

SECTION D FOR /DEFINE AND DELIMIT

International and european laws

SECTION D FOR /DEFINE AND DELIMIT

Article 24 of the 2006 UN Convention

SECTION D FOR /DEFINE AND DELIMIT

Consequences of Article 24 on the education system

The Salamanca Statement 1994

United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2006

European disability Forum

Provide participants with resource sheets on the 2006 UN Convention and its Article 24 on inclusive schooling

1. Organize a debate on the theme: you need to legislate in order to organize inclusive education in your country, seeking to apply the guiding principles of the UN Convention of 2006. What goals should you aim for? What means should you provide for inclusive education to be effective?

2. From the point of view of an educational executive, what means (material and human) would you ask your ministry for in order to comply with the new law?

3. Your department answers that it can’t afford to give you extra staff in your classrooms, given the recent strengthening of specialized classes. What arguments could you say to show that your request is a priority?

Expected answers:

1. Objectives of the legislation: :

Preamble: The notion of ethics has now supplanted the sense of "normalcy"

While "normalcy" is an essentially statistical notion (character of what is mostly observed), ethics is a philosophical discipline that questions the aims, the values of existence, the conditions for a happy life, the notions of "good" and "evil".

The values that inspire the UN Convention and in particular Article 24 on education are:

Equal opportunities
Non-discrimination of people for reasons based on difference (disability, sex, race ...)

This article clearly refers to "the right of persons with disabilities to education. "

"In order to ensure the exercise of this right without discrimination and on the basis of equal opportunities, States Parties shall ensure that the education system provides for inclusive education at all levels and, at the same time, offers lifelong, educational opportunities "

To apply these guiding principles, the legislator must have the following objectives:

« "The full development of human potential and the feeling of dignity and self-esteem, as well as the strengthening of respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms and human diversity; "
« "The development of the personality of persons with disabilities, of their talents and creativity, as well as of their mental and physical abilities, to the fullest extent of their potential".
« "Effective participation of people with disabilities in a free society"
The notion of accessibility in all its forms becomes a moral obligation in our societies.

The goal of inclusive education should clearly be at the heart of this legislation.

Means to be implemented:

To achieve the goal of inclusion, school must adapt to the specificities of the public it caters for, which implies:

Laying out the premises in a "reasonable way according to the needs of each"
Providing for equipment to compensate, at least partially, the disability
Supporting students with disabilities "to facilitate their effective education"
Individualized support "to optimize academic progress and socialization"

Teacher training at the heart of the system:

Even more than the material conditions that can be facilitating the inclusion of students with disabilities, the training of teachers and staff in charge of students with Special Educational Needs becomes an absolute necessity for achieving the objectives of inclusion.

first of all, it is necessary to "sensitize teachers (all of them), educational executive and staff at all levels to disabilities", which implies training programs, to varying degrees, for almost all the educational staff, and unfailing support of the hierarchy.

Braille, sign language must be part of teacher training.
Teachers must also know how to use all technical means and "modes, means and forms of improved and alternative communication and techniques and educational materials adapted to people with disabilities".
It is clear that from an inclusion perspective, training must be provided to all teachers and staff in charge of disability and not only to specialized teachers.

2. What means are needed to organize school inclusion? ?

The presence of pupils with Special Needs Education in regular classes will require some adaptations and the provision of additional resources:

Adapting premises
Purchasing specific materials and adapted furniture
Expanding teacher training
Formation of educational teams and strengthening of collaboration between medical staff, teaching staff and local authorities
Increasing the number of teachers in classrooms and especially the presence of specialized educators.

In return, it may be possible to close most of the specialized establishments, which would allow a staff reassignment.

While some of these obligations come (most often) in the remit of local authorities, others are the responsibility of the Ministry of Education which will, if necessary:

Provide training sessions for all teachers and educational staff in charge of SEN students
Initiate a structural reform aimed at eliminating specialized institutions and redeploying staff in regular classes
Increase the number of teachers in classes with SEN students
Facilitate coordination between school and the various stakeholders in charge of students with disabilities.
And if it is not already the case, give autonomy of management and organization to the schools so that they can meet at the most local level the needs expressed in the field.

3. What are the arguments against a ministry opposing the provision of additional resources?

This is of course a case study: how can one imagine that a ministry would derive no consequences from a law that has just been passed?

But suppose that is the case. Here are some arguments that can be used to try to win the case:

A law has just come into force which compels schools to welcome SEN pupils into their class, without discrimination of any kind, except medical necessity imposing means that the school can’t offer.
It is absurd that additional staff has been assigned to specialized institutions, whereas compulsory school inclusion, if rigorously applied, will empty these structures of most of its staff.
Most of the pupils from specialized schools will increase the size of regular classes. The logic is that in return specialized teachers would come to reinforce the ordinary schools.
If, for reasons of convenience, these structures were maintained and pupils were forced to go back and forth between regular and specialized schools, the foundation of the law would be deflected, thereby exposing authorities to legal proceedings from parents or associations.
The ministry can therefore not overlook the structural reforms required by the enforcement of this law.