Education is central to the development of the individual. It is key to helping a person achieve his or her potential. It provides a person with the aptitudes and capacities to live as fulfilling a life as possible and to contribute to the greatest extent practicable to the life of the society in which he or she lives. This is true for all people, but it is especially true of those who, because of disabilities, are at risk of becoming marginalised in society. Without access to services that will meet their special education needs, people with disabilities who have such needs will be denied the capacity to develop as fulfilled members of society and society will be denied their contributions as citizens. This is very much a "lose lose" situation.
The way in which society has responded over the decades to the needs of children with disabilities is a topic too large for me to deal with at any length now. There is and always has been in society great affection for such children and a desire to respond to their needs. This is especially true of so many families who have dedicated themselves in a special way to their child who, because of a disability, needs special care and protection. It is also true of the many people in public and voluntary agencies who for years have provided vital services and support for people with special needs arising from a disability.
In the education sector significant resources have been provided for the education of children with special educational needs, yet for all that, it must be admitted that in the struggle to find resources for the education system generally the focus was primarily on the majority of children who did not have special needs. Special education commanded less attention and less of its share of the budget than should have been the case. Even so, many children with special needs have, through a combination of parental effort, voluntary agencies and public funding, received a good education which has prepared them well for life. Unfortunately, there are others about whom the same cannot be said. Children who could have achieved more in their lives, however limited their capabilities, have not benefited from education as they might have. Lack of resources, poor planning and ineffective co-ordination of service providers have failed them.
More recently the situation has been changing, and the Government has presided over an unprecedented level of development in special education services. In September 1999 the learning support teacher service was extended to every first and second level school in the country. As a result, the number of learning support teachers in the primary system has grown from 1,242 in September 1997 to 1,485 at present. In October 1998 the Government decided that all children with disabilities within the primary system should have an automatic entitlement to a response to their needs. As a result of this development, the number of special resource teachers catering for children with special needs in ordinary schools has increased from 104 to more than 1,500. At the same time the number of special needs assistants in the system has grown from less than 300 to approximately 3,000.
Since September 1999 the pupil-teacher ratios applicable in all special schools and special classes have been reduced to the levels recommended by the special education review committee. Since October 1998 the Department of Education and Science has recognised the distinct emotional needs of children with autism and made special dedicated provision for such children. As a result of this development, more than 90 dedicated special classes have been established to cater for children with autism. Each class caters for a maximum of six pupils and has the support of a teacher and two special needs assistants. Funding of €3.2 million has been made available in 2002 to support the development of a nationwide pre-school service for children with autism. Further funding of €3.2 million has been made available in the current year to support the extension of education programmes for children with autism throughout the month of July. A sum of €1.2 million is being provided in 2002 to support the operation of three pilot projects utilising the applied behavioural analysis model of approach to the education of children with autism.
Developments in technology can be of great assistance to the educational development of children with disabilities. In the current year I have secured additional funding of €2.2 million to facilitate the purchase of special equipment for children with special needs. This brings the allocation for equipment to almost €4 million in the current year, compared with an allocation of €1 million in 1998.
Since September 1999 funding has been made available to facilitate the appointment of escorts on every special school transport service that conveys pupils to and from special schools and classes. In excess of 600 individual routes are involved in this. Funding is also provided for the purchase of a safety harness where required. There are now 108 special schools with 6,614 pupils, 1,089 teachers and 934 full-time equivalent special needs assistants. There are 465 special classes with 3,743 pupils, 465 teachers and 653 full-time equivalent special needs assistants.
There are approximately 12,736 pupils attending primary schools on an integrated basis. These children are supported by approximately 1,500 full-time equivalent resource teachers and approximately 2,031 special needs assistants. A total of 49 special classes dedicated to autism are attached to special schools and a further 49 are attached to ordinary national schools. These 98 classes can cater for up to 588 pupils with autism. More than 50 other children are receiving an education in other publicly funded facilities, such as the CABAS facility in Cork.
I am aware that people can be sceptical about statistics. However, these figures represent real expenditure, real people providing services and, most of all, a real provision enhancement for the services provided for children with special educational needs. Even the strongest critics of the services provided for these children cannot dismiss these developments and additional resources as negligible. In the last three years our annual expenditure on children with special needs has risen from €7 million per annum to €70 million per annum. These figures represent a significant resourcing of the special education system. I accept that still more needs to be done. Through this Bill I will ensure more is done. Provision which has been made to date as a matter of administrative arrangement will now be available to children with special educational needs as a matter of right of law.
In October 2000 I established a special task force to carry out an independent review of current approaches to the educational needs of children with autism. This task force, which also made recommendations for the future development of services in this area, presented its report to me in November 2001. Although it had specific focus on autism, many of the task force's recommendations were equally applicable to the education generally of people with special educational needs. I have paid special attention to the recommendations of the task force in the area of legislative issues and incorporated them into the Bill. In particular, the Bill covers the following proposals of the task force: enactment of a civil rights statute dealing with the educational rights of persons with disabilities; a clear presumption in favour of mainstreaming; a statement of educational need and an individual education plan for each individual; a statement of the resources required to implement the plan; a statutory right related to professional and other services; a statutory right to appropriate ongoing education and training; a method of evaluating progress; an independent appeals-complaints mechanism.
As the explanatory memorandum to the Bill states, the purpose of the Bill is to provide a statutory framework within which the education of children and people who have special needs due to disabilities can be guaranteed as a right enforceable in law. The Bill sets out a range of services which must be provided, including assessments, individual education plans and support services. It provides for a process of mediation where needs are not met. The central role of parents in the education of their children is also provided for. The Bill establishes the National Council for Special Education through which the Bill, as enacted, will be given effect.
The education of children with special educational needs alongside those who do not have such needs has long been Government policy. The Bill gives statutory force to this policy. In doing so, it is acting in the best interests of the children concerned, who can best grow and develop in the company of their peer group. The Bill provides that the needs of the child concerned and the wishes of his or her parents are taken into account. Similarly, the needs of the children alongside whom the child is to be educated and the efficient use of resources must also be considered. The section goes on to provide that the education of a child with special needs shall occur in special classes and separate schools. Settings removed from the ordinary school environment will only be used when education in that environment with the use of appropriate support services cannot adequately meet the needs of the child.
Early identification of children with special needs is essential if those needs are to be identified and proper planning undertaken to meet them. The Bill provides for a system of registration of such children, involving health boards, parents, schools and the National Council for Special Education. Where a health board is of the opinion that a child has, or is likely to have, special educational needs, it must inform the parents of the child and the council as soon as possible. The purpose of this provision is to alert parents and the council to the needs of the child concerned in order that, in the case of the council, it can plan ahead for the child and intervene early in his or her education, if appropriate.
Parents may also bring their concerns about the potential special needs of their children to the attention of the council by seeking to have the child entered in the register. Where it receives an application for registration, the council can arrange for an assessment of the child by appropriate experts, including experts in psychology, medicine and education. Parental consent to an assessment is required. In carrying out the assessment regard will be had to any relevant assessment that has been commissioned or carried out by a health board. This is part of the process of ensuring that the different services provided to the child are co-ordinated in the child's interests. A report on the assessment is to be made available, as soon as possible after the assessment is completed, to the parents of the child and to any people engaged in the education of the child who have a need to know.
The drawing up of education plans tailored to meet the educational needs of children with special educational needs is a key provision of the Bill. Through the planning process, disabilities can be identified, needs assessed, goals decided on and progress monitored. In preparing the plan, the special educational needs organiser assigned to a school is given very special responsibility. It is he or she who must convene a team of people, including the parents of the child and various professionals, to assist in preparing the plan. The planning process must take account of assessment of needs carried out by health boards.
The matters to be addressed in an education plan include the nature and degree of the child's disability, the present level of educational performance, where relevant, the child's special educational needs, the services to be provided to him or her and the outcomes or goals which the child is to achieve over a specified period. This period cannot be longer than 12 months. The transitions of a child with special educational needs from primary to post-primary school and from school to adult services are recognised as particularly important milestones and the plan is specifically required to address these from as early as 14 years in the case of transition out of school to adult appropriate provision.
The Bill provides for the review at regular intervals of individual education plans both by schools and the special educational needs organisers. The purpose of these reviews is to establish if children are achieving the objectives set in the plan. If they are not, then the plan is to be amended accordingly.
The Bill provides for a range of duties for schools in respect of children with special educational needs. These duties are additional to those already imposed on schools by legislation such as the Equal Status Act and the Education Act. This Bill provides that a school must make all practicable efforts to assist a child who is not benefiting from the regular education programme, prior to concluding that he or she is a child with special educational needs, unless, of course, the child's special needs are obvious. The intention here is to avoid over-identification of a child as having special needs when reasonable accommodation for the child within the standard school programme can meet his or her needs. If a child has special educational needs the school is required to prepare an individual education plan for the child. To assist the school in this, the National Council for Special Education will set down guidelines. The special educational needs organiser for the school will arrange for the assessment of the child and the plan will be based on that assessment. Provision is also made for consultation with the parents and other relevant people in preparing the plan.
The Bill also provides that the board of management of a school must ensure that, as regards admission to and participation in the school, a policy of maximum accommodation for children with special educational needs is in place and implemented. Schools must make all reasonable efforts to meet the needs of students, co-operate with the council and contribute to awareness among staff and students of the needs of children with special educational needs.
It is my intention that the Bill will give an effective and meaningful voice to parents in the education of their children. An essential element of that voice is the capacity to have decisions of schools and the council reviewed independently. The Bill provides that parents of a child may appeal to an independent appeals board against any statement or description of their child's special educational needs or any other statement or description appearing in the educational plan which they consider incorrect or inadequate to meet the child's special educational needs. It is likely, however, that many parents will wish to pursue a less formal approach to a review of decisions. For that reason the Bill provides that before processing an appeal, the appeals board will inform the parents concerned of the procedures that are available for mediation. Mediation will be voluntary and parents may withdraw at any time.
The mediation will be facilitated by an independent person, appointed with the agreement of all parties concerned, who will be familiar with the educational needs of children with disabilities and any relevant legislation. Any agreement made through this process of mediation will be set down in writing and signed by all relevant parties. The appeals board will not deal with an appeal if the parents concerned choose to avail of the mediation procedure, except where they decide to withdraw from the mediation process. On hearing an appeal, the appeals board may give directions to the council, which it must implement, or may dismiss the appeal.
Provision of statutory rights to education and training to those whose education in a school environment ends is an important part of the Bill. The rights of people with special needs as regards equal treatment are already provided for in legislation such as the Equal Status Act and the Education Act. However, this Bill goes further and provides statutory, enforceable rights to people as regards access to and benefit from continuing education and training.
Section 16 sets out a range of education and training provision which is to be made for adults with disabilities. If the council considers that on the person's reaching 18 years of age, his or her special educational needs can be met most effectively by providing for a continuation of his or her education in the school which he or she is attending, it can arrange for the person to remain at that school for the period of one further school year. If, on the other hand, the council considers that the person concerned can have his or her special educational needs met more effectively in a setting other than a school, it is required to inform the relevant health board not less than one year prior to the eighteenth birthday of the person concerned. The council and the relevant board will, following consultation with the young person concerned, his or her parents and others with appropriate expertise, consider what is the most appropriate educational provision that can be made for him or her post school. If the council and the health board are of the opinion that the person concerned can benefit from training or employment support services, FÁS will be informed and it will exercise its statutory functions to make appropriate provision.
If the council and the health board consider that the person concerned is not capable of benefiting from a programme of training or employment support immediately, or at all, the relevant health board will make provision for a programme of continuing education and personal development in a setting appropriate to the age and needs of the person concerned for as long as the health board considers necessary to assist the person to make the best use of his or her capacities or until the person concerned can move to training or employment. Provision for a person in this situation must include a qualified teacher in a multi-disciplinary team which will be required to provide the necessary services.
The Bill specifically acknowledges that many people with special educational needs will move to higher, further and continuing education and states that nothing in the Bill restricts the right of a person to receive and benefit from such education in the same way and to the same extent as a person who does not have a disability.
The Bill establishes the National Council for Special Education as the body charged with ensuring that the Bill as enacted will be given full effect. Its specific duties include the compilation and maintenance of the register, the co-ordination of special education in conjunction with schools and other educational institutions and the regular review of provision made by such institutions. It will have responsibility to conduct research in the area of special education and provide relevant advice and information to the Minister. The Bill provides for the structure of the board and for a consultative forum which will be drawn from the education partners. This forum will provide advice to the council.
The provision of appropriate education services to children and adults with special educational needs crucially involves close co-operation and co-ordination of activities between education and health authorities. The health boards have a key role to play in providing support services such as the various therapies people concerned need and also because children and others with disabilities often reside in health board facilities or attend day care services. It is regrettably the case that services to date have not been as co-ordinated as they should be. The Bill when enacted will resolve these difficulties.
Section 36 provides that the council may from time to time request a health board to take specified actions where it considers this to be necessary to the delivery of an adequate education plan or, more generally, to assist the council in carrying out its functions. Prior consultation with a health board is required before a request is made to it. A health board must comply with a request unless, in its view, the assistance requested is not necessary, taking the action would not be consistent with its functions or it would not be reasonable to comply having regard to its resources. If the health board decides that it cannot comply with a request of the council, it must state its reasons and the council may appeal the refusal to comply. On hearing an appeal, the appeals board may direct the health board to comply with the request or dismiss the appeal.
These provisions bring clarity to the role of the health boards, provide a formal process through which the boards, following consultation with them, can be informed of what is required and provide a structure for resolving disputes. The beneficiaries of these provisions will be those who rely on the services of the boards to access appropriate education and training services and their parents.
There will be those who will criticise the fact that we have not legislated sooner for the education of people with special educational needs. It is worth remembering, however, that the practice of legislating for education is for the most part a relatively recent innovation. The Education Act is just over three years old. In the term of office of the Government there has been a more comprehensive and far reaching programme of legislation covering all areas of the education system than in the entire period since the foundation of the State. It gives me special pleasure to introduce the Bill as the final piece of legislation in that programme. In preparing it we have had the benefit of being able to review the law applying in other jurisdictions, notably the United States and the United Kingdom. We have had the benefit of the advice of a number of advisory committees and groups, notably the task force on autism and earlier the special education review committee. We have had the experience of past failures and successes to guide us. Most importantly, we have consistently had the voice of parents telling us how they want to see a legal basis constructed for the education of their children.
I want to move forward with this Bill without delay in order that the potential benefits it offers to those with special educational needs and their parents can become a reality as quickly as possible. I rely on the support of the House in that endeavour.
I thank Senators for taking the Bill at this time. It is important legislation which will confer rights. We are providing many necessary services. There has been a huge change in this regard in recent years as a result of the O'Donoghue case and subsequently the Sinnott case to some extent. While services are being provided, parents would like to see them copperfastened in legislation. I thank Senators for the opportunity to bring forward the Bill tonight.