Special
Needs Education in
1. Legal system
Every citizen of the Republic
of Latvia and every person who has the right to a non-citizen passport issued
by the Republic of Latvia, every person who has received a permanent residence
permit, as well as citizens of European Union member states who have been
issued a temporary residence permit, and their children, have equal right to
acquire education, regardless of their property or social status, race,
nationality, gender, religious or political convictions, state of health,
disability, occupation or place of residence.
The Law on Education adopted
in 1998 defines the main organizational principles and procedures of
educational services and the Law on General Education adopted in 1999 defines
the organizational principles and procedures of general education services.
The Law on Education identifies
special education as
general and
professional education adapted for persons with special needs and health
problems, or with special needs or health problems.
The Law on General Education
defines the types of education implemented in
The aims and the goals of
general educations are described in the Standards of General Education which
are adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers.
Main principles and procedures
of assessment of students including those with special needs are also adopted
by the Cabinet of Ministers.
For more information about
legal system of education in
2.
Financing
The financing of educational
institutions depends on the ownership of these institutions. There are three
types of educational institutions – state, municipal and private. The financing
of educational services are stated in the Law on Education (Chapter 7).
The state owed institutions
are funded from the state budget according to the Law of State Budget for a
definite year.
Municipal educational
institutions are funded from two main sources – local budget (the maintenance)
and the state budget (teacher salaries and social taxes).
All costs of special schools,
classes and groups are covered by earmarked subsidies from the state budget
according to the regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers.
Private educational
institutions are funded by their founders. The state and municipalities share
the costs (teacher salaries and social taxes) of these institutions if the
curriculum they provide is licensed by the Ministry of Education and Science.
The pre-school education is
two-fold. The compulsory education of 5-6 year old children is covered partly
by state (teacher salaries) and by municipalities (maintenance). The education
of younger children which is not compulsory is completely the responsibility of
local municipalities. If pre-school educational institution has groups for
children with special needs the funding comes from the state budget as an
earmarked subsidy. Then this group is funded by the earmarked subsidy from the
state.
It is planned that the
beginning of school year 2009/2010 will commence a new financing system in
education – funding following a pupil or so called “back pack” principle of
financing.
3.
Identification of Special Needs
There is no official definition
of special needs in
Usually all children start
their schooling in mainstream environment with exception of those who has
diagnosed disability in early childhood and the parents choose to place them in
special educational institution.
During the first year of
schooling students follow mainstream curriculum. If they show considerable
difficulties in acquiring this curriculum and academic achievements do not
correspond to requirements of national basic education standards the support
team of the school can suggest support measures and the development of the
Individual Educational Plan. If the mentioned measures do not work and the
child’s achievements have not improved it can be suggested that the child repeat
the year or attend pedagogical medical commission. Before attending the
commission the child should be assessed by a psychologist, a speech therapist,
a teacher and if necessary should have general health check-up. The commission
prepares recommendation what kind of curriculum the child should follow but it
is up to the parents to make the final decision about their child’s education.
There are two types of
pedagogical medical commissions – the State Pedagogical Medical Commission (SPMC)
formed by the Ministry of Education and Science and Municipal Pedagogical Medical
Commissions formed by district or town municipalities. The commissions consist
of different specialists – special teachers, psychologists, doctors and social
workers. They assess different aspects of child’s performance.
The competence of the SPMC and
municipal commissions are defined by Regulations issued by the Cabinet of
Ministers.
The commissions can identify
following special educational needs:
-
learning disabilities (difficulties);
-
hearing impairments;
-
visual impairments;
-
physical disabilities;
-
language impairments;
-
intellectual disabilities (disabilities of mental
development), ;
-
mental health disorders;
-
severe and multiple disabilities
-
chronic illnesses .
Parents can choose what kind
of educational institution their child should attend – a special school, a special
class in a mainstream school, a special group in a mainstream school or should
he/she be integrated in a mainstream class.
4. Special Needs Education
within the Education System
According to the Law on
General Education special education is a part of general education.
Students who require special
organization of learning environment, application of special methods of
teaching and need additional pedagogical support are entitled to special
education. Special education is provided for students with different kinds and
degrees of disabilities.
Special education can be
organized in different ways.
Pre-school education. Since 2002
pre-school education for 5-6 year old children is compulsory. Education for
younger children is optional. Majority of these education institutions belong
to the municipalities, some are privately owned. Usually children with special
needs attend general groups but there are a number of special groups and special
pre-school institutions (37). The majority of pre-school age children who
attend special groups or special pre-school institutions are children with
speech and language development problems. Special support is offered to these
children to develop their linguistic and communication skills. Normally a
speech therapist and special education teachers are engaged to work with
children.
If a child shows any special
needs the parents contact local municipality services to obtain information
about what kind of support is available and where can they receive it. As
stated previously the majority of pre-school institutions belong to
municipalities it is their responsibility to provide adequate support for the
child and the family.
If a pre-school institution
decides to admit children with special needs it has to license a curriculum in
the Ministry of Education and Science.
Mainstream settings.
According to the
Law on General Education all children should start school in the year when they
become 7 years old. The compulsory education lasts for 9 years from the first
to the ninth grade. The students with visual and hearing impairments acquire
basic education in 10 years. Deaf students have 11 years to finish basic
education. Students with severe language disabilities and learning disabilities
can have 10 years to acquire basic education.
The students with special
needs can attend any educational institution his/her parents choose. The
prerequisites for acquiring education in mainstream school are:
-
licensed curriculum by MoES;
-
support of specialists (special teachers, speech
therapists, psychologist etc.)
-
remedial instruction;
-
smaller classes;
-
communication support;
-
adequate assessment.
There are special classes in
mainstream schools for children with different disabilities and many children
are integrated or included in mainstream settings. At present there is no
precise data on how many children with special educational needs are acquiring
education in mainstream settings.
The regulations of the Cabinet
of Ministers states how many children with special needs can be integrated or
included in a mainstream class and what number of children can be in such a
class. Teacher assistants are provided for lessons where children with SEN are
integrated.
To follow the instruction
during the lessons every child with special needs if it is necessary has Individual
Education Plan with stated aims and goals the child should reach.
After the completion of
compulsory education the young person can choose how to continue his/her
education. There are several possibilities:
-
to attend vocational school;
-
to attend vocational classes in special schools;
-
to continue secondary education in mainstream schools.
The choice depends on
abilities and the level of mental or intellectual development.
The possibility to receive
education in the most appropriate educational institution is provided for each
child with special needs by ensuring:
-
help of qualified specialists;
-
acquisition of academic knowledge;
-
development of social and work skills;
-
practical orientation in education;
-
preparation for working life and integration into
society;
-
remedial instruction and rehabilitation.
5.
Teacher Training
Teachers are trained at higher
education level. To become a teacher a person should enter university or
college and to complete full course of professional studies (4 -5 years).
Teacher training comprises several components:
-
general education studies;
-
studies related to specific subject;
-
professional studies.
The qualification of special
teacher can be acquired in several ways:
1.
by completing 4 or 4,5 year professional study program
concerning specific disability;
2.
in 2,5 year study program (80-93 credits) for teachers
who already has teacher qualification;
3.
in masters study programs;
4.
in in-service
training courses for teachers with qualifications in some other subjects (72
study hours).
6.
Development of Integration/Inclusion
The movement towards
integration and inclusion of students with special needs started in the middle
of 1990-ies. The Law on Education stated that every child has the right to
obtain his/her education in the school of his/her parents’ choice.
The Ministry of Education and
Science has always supported the idea that both trends in special education –
special schools (groups, classes) and integration (inclusion) in mainstream
schools – should exist in
Due to the very low birth rate
during the last decade the number of students in schools has diminished. This
has lead to the situation that every school needs all the children of the local
community to attend it to prevent the closure of some classes or even the whole
school.
In this situation more and
more mainstream schools and pre-school institutions adapt their curriculum or
license new curricula to offer them to children and young persons with
different kinds of special needs. To ensure that schools and pre-school
institutions have teachers who understands how to work with children with
disabilities universities and colleges offer in-service training for teachers
to acquire the qualifications of special teachers. Because of the above
mentioned tendency the number of students in special schools and boarding
schools diminishes.
But we have to mention that
the process of integration/inclusion is not unequivocal. Not all mainstream
schools can provide the best support and learning environment the child needs.
The attitude of society in general and of concrete parents, children, school staff
not always permit good terms of integration/inclusion of students with SEN.
There is strong political will
and support of NGOs to move forward with integration/inclusion of children and
young persons with different disabilities into mainstream education system.
The main task of the Ministry
of Education and Science, local boards of education and municipality
authorities is to provide the best possible conditions for students with
special needs in the mainstream education institutions.
There is a strong need for the
development of nation-wide support system for persons with special needs. The
·
To co-ordinate the development of the support system
for SEN;
·
To provide methodological guidance for special
education;
·
To consult all stake-holders about the issues of
special education;
·
To develop co-operation between different national and
international agencies;
·
To gather evidence of good practice and to disseminate
it;
·
To suggest amendments in legislation concerning
education of persons with SEN;
·
To improve the assessment of children with special
needs.
7.
Quality indicators for SEN
According to the requirements
of legislation all students with disabilities except those with mental
disabilities follow the general education curriculum which is based on the
adopted standards of general primary education. That means that they have to
take state tests and examinations and to be assessed as students with no
disabilities. The process of testing and assessment can be adapted to the needs
and abilities of a concrete student. The students with mental disabilities do
not take state tests and their academic success is measured according to the
dynamics of their development and their abilities.
The efficiency of every school
and pre-school institution as well as the quality of the education process is
evaluated by special state commission at least once in 6 years. The internal
and external evaluation is done based on criteria developed to evaluate
different aspects of education process in the institution.
8.
Educational provisions for children with
intellectual disabilities (disabilities of mental
development)
Disabilities of mental
development are considered high-incidence disabilities in
According to the level of IQ
in education we speak about three levels of disabilities of mental development:
·
Mild intellectual
disabilities – A;B levels
·
Moderate and severe
intellectual disabilities – C level
These levels do not correspond
exactly to medical classification of mental retardation.
Pupils of level A;B are those
whose IQ is between 50 and 69; pupils of level C are those who have IQ 49 and
below.
If a child has mild
intellectual disabilities they often are not detected before they start
attending school, that means they attend preschool together with other children
and they are prepared for school in the same way as everybody else. If a child
has moderate or severe intellectual disabilities they are usually detected by
the family doctor and referred to specialist. The child can attend special
preschool or mainstream preschool institution but have extra support and
specialist assessment. To get a statement that a child has special educational
needs to be eligible for additional provisions – special preschool, special
group in a mainstream preschool or specialized support in a mainstream
preschool – he/she should be assessed by municipality or state pedagogical
medical commission.
The total number of children
attending preschool institutions is 81 025 from the age of 1.5 till 7. 7.6% of children acquire special preschool
curriculum, but 3.7% of children attend special groups in mainstream preschool
institutions.
There is no date how many of
preschoolers have intellectual disabilities.
The identification of special
educational needs including intellectual disabilities is discussed in the
previous chapters.
According to the statistics
available in the Ministry of Education and Science in the school year 2008/2009
there was10 350 (5%) pupils with special needs in schools in
·
In special schools – 7558
·
In special classes in mainstream schools – 1202
·
Integrated in mainstream classes – 1590
46% or 3476 pupils in special
schools are pupils with intellectual disabilities acquiring basic education
(grades 1-9).
After the period of 9 years of
basic education young people with intellectual disabilities can continue their
education in special schools acquiring initial vocational training for 1 to 3
years. 35 special schools for pupils with intellectual disabilities provide
such training. 1005 young people acquire very simple professions and when they
pass qualification tests they get the certificate of the first level of
qualification in the respective profession (e.g. assistant of a gardener,
assistant of a cook).
At present there is a tendency
for vocational schools to create programs for young people with intellectual
disabilities to train them for different professions.
There is an institution for
social and professional rehabilitation where people with different disabilities
can acquire profession which is suited to his/her interests and abilities.
There are 21 different study programs involving 500 students from the whole
country.