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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 407 777 EC 305 533 TITLE Legislation Pertaining to Special Needs Education. INSTITUTION United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, Paris (France). REPORT NO ED-96/WS.3 PUB DATE Feb 96 NOTE 181p. AVAILABLE FROM United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 7, Place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France; fax: 33-1-40-65-94-05; telephone: 33-1-45-68-10-00. PUB TYPE Reports Evaluative (142) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC08 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Comparative Education; *Disabilities; Disability Identification; Educational Legislation; *Educational Practices; Elementary Secondary Education; *Foreign Countries; *Inclusive Schools; Mainstreaming; Parent Role; *Special Education; *Special Needs Students; Surveys; Vocational Education IDENTIFIERS *International Surveys ABSTRACT This report presents the findings of a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Social, and Cultural Organization) survey of the state of legislation on special needs education in 52 member states. Mostof the information was gathered in 1992-93. This document represents the final work compiled in 1994-95. Part 1 presents an analysis and synthesis of the country entries, based on the information submitted by individual countries. It covers:(1) the nature and extent of legislation pertaining to special needs education;(2) responsibility and organization;(3) identification, assessment, orientation, and placement;(4) age range covered by the legislation;(5) integration;(6) curriculum entitlement;(7) vocational education; and (8) parent role. Part 2 presents information on theindividual countries, including: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Barbados, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, China, Columbia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Namibia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway,Pakistan, Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Venezuela, Zaire, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. (DB) ******************************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ******************************************************************************** a A , 0 I 0° 0 .._ 'I I I U S DEPARTMENT OFEDUCATION -Office Of Educational Research and Improvement--- ED CATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproducedas received from the person or organization originating it Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY i i. -f.7....:2 v. 0.1-t- v.( TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) I I BEST COPY AVAILABLE 0 N.. \ 2 LEGISLATION PERTAINING TO SPECIAL NEEDS EDUCATION UNESCO February 1996 ED-96/WS.3 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT UNESCO would like to thank Professor Maria Rita Saul le (Italy), Mr. Jonathan Robinson WS (UK), and Ms. Christina Hazzard (France) for their invaluable contribution to this work. The designations employed and the presentation of the material throughout the publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitations of its frontiers or boundaries. PREFACE The present day study presents information from fifty-two MemberStates collected by UNESCO during the course of its second investigation into thestate of legislation on special needs. education. (The first study appeared in 1969).The information was gathered in 1992-93, when a first compilation and analysiswas done in 1993 by Professor Maria Rita Saul le, the findings of whichwere shared at the World Conference on Special needs Education, Salamanca Spain, 1994.Following this first attempt, countries were invited to re-examine the initial information, forany corrections or modifications. This document represents the final work compiled in 1994-95. This lastphase of the work was carried out by Jonathan Robinson. The studywas conducted in response to the requests of Member States for informationon legislative provision related to special needs education.Such a study was very timelyas the last two decades witnessed important landmarks in national developments in this domain. Werecall here some of the major ones- the International Year of Disabled persons (1981), the Decade of Disabled Persons (1983-1992), the World Programme of Action inFavour of Disabled Persons (1983), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) andmore recently the Standard Rules on Equalization of Opportunities for DisabledPersons (1993). Legislation is needed to ensure the rights of disabledpersons to equal rights and Opportunities; it can further help in securing theresources needed to translate abstract rights into practical entitlements.It can also enhance the integration of special needs education within more general frameworks. Many changesin legislation have been made in the last ten years, particularly in relationto compulsory education, and the inclusion of special needs education within general education. The study is presented in two parts.Part I presents an analysis and synthesis of the country entries. This part is based on the information submitted bycountries as the only source of information, and the country entries do not all purport to be verbatimextracts from the legislation.Every effort has been made to interpret thecountry entries objectively and accurately, but there is alwaysan element of caution in the interpretation of the text. A statistical approach has beenincorporated with the aim of placing in relative context issues raised by the country entries. Part II of the study, the country entries, followsa uniform plan, corresponding as closely as possiblewith that of Part I, excluding "financing of education" and "teacher training". INTRODUCTION UNESCO received information from 52 Member Statesas tolegislation pertaining to special needs education. This Study is an analysis and synthesis of these country entries. The Study has relied upon the country entries as the only source of information, and the findings are subject to the vital provisos that (i) the country entries should be referred to for their detailed terms, and (ii) the country entries do not purport to be verbatim extracts from the legislation. To that extent, the sources are (in purely technical terms) secondary. For the study, 'Financing of Education' and 'Teacher Training' were excluded from the country entries and 'Parents' has been included.The word 'Orientation' has been used to mean placement. Much of the data contains direct reference to primary or subordinate legislation in the strict sense.Frequently, however, the data is expressed more generally. Accordingly, where entries refer to Departments, Ministries or other official bodies, it has been assumed that their powers and duties as stated in the country entries have been derived from legislation. Government or Ministerial Resolutions or Orders and (in the case of one country) executive Circulars are also mentioned in the country entries and, on the same assumption, have been taken into account and noted in the Study. Furthermore, where relevant, information which has been included by a country under one heading has been incorporated in the Study also under a different heading.The information in the Study may not always appear, therefore, to correspond precisely with the country entries. This is solely due to a desire to use the available information fully and in a constructive manner. Every effort has been made to interpret the country entries objectively and accurately, but with a wealth of information there is an element of discretion, as to the extent to which reference should be made to any one country's entry. Because the Study is to a large extent a fusion of the country entries, quotation marks have not been used rigorously; in the interest of a lucid analysis they appear only where it has been considered that a country entry should be seen to have been quoted verbatim. A statistical approach has been incorporated, with the objective to place in relative context each issue raised by the country entries.The statistics are accurate to one decimal point, except for two exceptions where total percentages have been rounded down rather than up, in order to achieve the total figure of 100.0% without distorting its individual components.That said, the statistics should not be taken as anything more than what is intended to be a useful indicator of emphasis, and it is essential to note the various occasions where information has been unavailable to any significant extent. 6 CONTENTS PREFACE INTRODUCTION PART I : ANALYSIS AND SYNTHESIS I- THE NATURE AND EXTENT OF THE LEGISLATION PERTAINING To SPECIAL NEEDS EDUCATION 11 II - RESPONSIBILITY AND ORGANISATION 16 III -IDENTIFICATION, ASSESSMENT AND ORIENTATION (PLACEMENT) 19 IV - AGE RANGE COVERED BY THE LEGISLATION 24 V -INTEGRATION 28 VI -CURRICULUM ENTITLEMENT 34 VII -POST 16 YEARS - VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 37 VIII - PARENTS 40 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 43 PART II : COUNTRY SUMMARIES ARGENTINA 49 AUSTRALIA 50 AUSTRIA 53 BAHRAIN 56 BARBADOS 58 BELGIUM 59 BRAZIL 66 BULGARIA 68 CANADA 70 CAPE VERDE 72 CHILE 73 CHINA 77 COLOMBIA 78 COSTA