Welcome to the inclusive education law course. In this tutorial, we focus on the development
of inclusive education in the Russian Federation. The tutorial covers the Education Act of 1992, the rights of students with disabilities in the Education Act, challenges to the goal of inclusive education,
and tasks to be performed in the Russian Federation. Let us start with the Education Act of 1992. The Education Act of 1992 contains guarantees for
the right to education of citizens with developme
ntal disabilities. The state creates conditions for their education,
correction of developmental disabilities and social adaptation by means
of special pedagogical methods. For students with developmental disabilities, the agencies of educational administration set up
special educational institutions, classrooms or groups, and guarantee their treatment, education and instruction,
and enhance their social adaptation and integration in society. The norms for financing such institutions
are hi
gher than the average ones. In order to realize the right to education, the federal authorities,
the authorities of the subjects of the Russian Federation and the local governments create the necessary conditions to deliver quality education
to persons with disabilities without discrimination, and for the correction of developmental
disabilities and social adaptation. They provide early correctional assistance on the basis
of special pedagogical approaches and languages, methods and means of
communication and conditions most conducive
to education at a certain level and a certain direction, and the social developments of these persons, in particular by means of
organization of inclusive education of persons with disabilities. Special conditions for education
of children with disabilities include financial support for regular schools
providing education to children with disabilities. The state supports the system
of special schools and educational institutions including kinderg
artens, professional institutions,
boarding institutions, particularly as resource centres. Parents have the right to choose a regular or
a special school for their child with disabilities. The state provides professional support
for teachers including in-service training. What are the rights of students with disabilities
described in the Education Act of 1992? Students with disabilities have
a right to special support measures. The state provides conditions for training, taking into accoun
t the peculiarities of their
mental and physical development and health, including the provision of social,
educational and psychological assistance, free psychological, medical
and pedagogical correction. Special conditions for education
of students with disabilities include: provision of special education programs
and methods of training, special textbooks, tutorials
and teaching materials, special technical means of training, assistant services,
providing the necessary technical assist
ance, group and individual correctional lessons, access to buildings, and other conditions, without which it is impossible or
difficult to master the educational program (Art. 79) The Psychological-Medical-Pedagogical Consultation (PMPK)
assists parents in choosing a school or kindergarten. The aim of assessment of the child should be
for the purposes of determining the support and reasonable accommodations the child needs
to be able to go to school or kindergarten. Special conditions for ed
ucation of students with disabilities include:
sign language access to Braille books and literature, and special libraries to be run
by the regional authorities. What are the challenges to
the goal of inclusive education? The right to participate equally in afterschool activities and supplementary education to
develop creativity and individual talents remains difficult for students with disabilities. Problematic is as well accessible school transport. There also continues to be significant u
ncertainty about the legal status of
assistants of students with disabilities in educational institutions. Interagency cooperation between the departments of education,
health, and social welfare has proved challenging. What tasks have to be performed? The first task is to implement Article 7 of the Convention
on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities that asserts that, in all actions, the best interests
of the child shall be a primary consideration. The best interests is a concept aimed at
ensuring the full
and effective enjoyment by the child of all human rights and the child’s holistic development. Any determination of the best
interests of a child with a disability must consider the child’s own views
and individual identity, the preservation of his family, care,
protection and safety of the child, any particular vulnerability,
and the child’s right to health and education. The second task is to implement Article 7 of the Convention
on the Rights of Persons with Disabilit
ies that asserts that children with disabilities
have the right to express their views and the latter be given due weight on all matters affecting them,
according to their age and maturity on an equal basis with other children, and that they must be provided
with disability and age-appropriate assistance. Guaranteeing the right of children to participate in their education
must be applied equally to children with disabilities, to participate in their own learning
and individualized educatio
n plans, within the classroom pedagogy through school councils,
and to participate in the development of school policies and systems, and in the development of wider educational policy. The third task is to engage in monitoring of
the process of making decisions and of the adequate fulfilment of
recommendations on special measures to ensure the realization of reasonable
accommodation and inclusive education.
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