There are 200 thousand children with disabilities in Spain and 17 percent study in special centers. Now, the State School Council wants them to live in ordinary schools With the other students.
This measure has caused associations of fathers and mothers of children with disabilities They have convened a march for next February 23, protesting the disappearance of these centers because they are in favor of inclusive education, but also of special education.
There are 477 special education colleges that could be converted into supportive spaces.
Why inclusion in ordinary centers
The controversy broke out when the Minister of Education, Isabel Celaá, announced in the Senate last December that she wanted to convert the special education centers into "Inclusion support centers that provide advice and help so that the students of these centers can progressively join the ordinary".
In Babies and more "Possibly some children can be integrated into a normal school, but not all": parents against the closure of special education schools in MadridThis decision is supported by a report issued by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of August 2017 that ensures that:
"The existence of Special Education and the coexistence of 'two educational systems' would imply discrimination against persons with disabilities, making an extensive and, at least, arguable interpretation of the UN Convention."
The Spanish Committee of Representatives of Persons with Disabilities (CERMI) also calls for the elimination of Specialized Education so that students with disabilities are trained in ordinary educational centers, considering special education centers as “Segregating and parallel paths for students with disabilities”.
Right to be schooled where they need it
However, parents of children with disabilities are opposed to this measure. The platform "Inclusive education yes, also special", at the state level, brings together families affected by the plans of the State School Board announcing the disappearance of specialized education centers on the grounds that it is "Segregating and discriminatory."
In Babies and more For the inclusion of children with disabilities: the Justice of Valencia allows a child with autism to continue studying in their ordinary schoolThey oppose the UN report because they say that there is no record that the members of the Committee visited any Special Education center in Spain, so our country has already submitted its allegations, stating its "Disagreement and firm rejection".
They allege that the Education proposal is based on:
“A serious ignorance of what is disability and the different educational activities that take place in these educational centers to provide knowledge and skills to these students with diversity and that in most cases have a high affectation that greatly limits measure your intellectual capacity ”.
They also disagree with CERMI and claim that these children need specific and aware attention to their limitations and defend "the right of the child to be schooled where he needs".
"From this platform we believe and defend the right of all persons with disabilities to enjoy real inclusion in society in all areas. Therefore, we ask governments to guarantee a sufficient endowment of resources to serve students with disabilities in ordinary centers and in Special Education centers. "
They denounce that "Most centers are not adapted and then integration is impossible."
Not being discriminated against is not treating everyone the same
It is what the parents of the platform defend, which ensure that "you have to treat each one as you need", so as not to discriminate against you, because:
"Although some children adapt very well to ordinary school, others require an individualized education, with highly specialized staff, adapted spaces, classrooms with few students and specific learning rhythms."
It seems that the controversial educational bill, approved last Friday in the Council of Ministers, will not see the light for the advancement of the elections, although the parents of this Platform explain that the text refers to the intention to provide resources to the ordinary centers so that, in ten years, they can attend to students with disabilities, and that the other centers would stay only for cases of 'very specialized attention'.
That's why they fear that "Since the law is so ambiguous, the autonomous communities can interpret the elimination of these centers as an option", since having transferred the competences in Education, it would be to these that would correspond to assume the bulk of the change.
So the parents of the platform "Inclusive education yes, special, also" ask us a question:
Why destroy educational structures that are functioning and that guarantee the right to quality education for this student body?
And you, what do you think about it?
Photos | iStock
