On December 23, 2016, the Public Defender addressed the Ministry of Education and Science with a general proposal to accelerate the improvement of the legislation on inclusive education. In particular, the inclusive education multidisciplinary team functions should be defined in detail at the legislative level, which will increase the efficiency of the organization of inclusive education at schools and its supervision, as well as its functions as a mediator between the school and the parents of pupils with special needs.

The Public Defender was applied by a mother of a child with autism, who said that the school did not take into account the specific needs of her child with disabilities. In particular, by the principal’s instruction, if a student arrives late at school, when a little time is left before the end of the lesson, he/she is not let in the classroom. The principal’s sole decision has not been relevantly responded by the Ministry.

The Public Defender considers that the inconsistent approach towards the specific needs of a child with autism, as well as the imperfect legislative framework of inclusive education encourages discrimination against children with disabilities.

The Public Defender also addressed the Ministry of Education and Science to define the role of a special teacher at the legislative level and to increase the efficiency of their functions in terms of making decisions concerning the inclusive school education of students with special needs. In addition, the Public Defender called on the Ministry to ensure adequate response to the disputed instruction of the school principal.