More complete training for students with special needs, administrative relief for parents and a clearer definition of the activities of resource teachers. This is proposed by the Ministry of Education and Science with changes to the Regulation on Inclusive Education, published for public discussion. The amendments specify the organization of training and support for children and students with special educational needs, as well as coordination between specialists from different institutions.
The activities of resource teachers and social workers in education are more clearly defined, as well as their role in the process of inclusive education. It is specified for resource teachers that they work both individually with children and in a group in kindergarten or in the classroom. This encourages the activity and full inclusion of children with special educational needs in the life of kindergarten and school. Social workers in kindergartens and schools should support not only children at risk, but all those who need support.
The procedure for implementing screening to determine the risk of learning difficulties in 3-year-old children in kindergartens is also changing. As a first step, monitoring of the overall development of children is introduced through a special toolkit, proposed with the changes to the Regulation on Preschool Education, which have also been published for public discussion. When certain indications are present and after the consent of the parents, additional screening to identify learning difficulties will be possible. This, on the one hand, will ease the work of pedagogical specialists, and on the other - will allow for more precise monitoring of development and more targeted work with children who need additional support.
For parents of students with special educational needs, relief is also introduced when submitting documents for admission to the 8th grade, as they will be able to submit them to the Regional Center for Support of the Inclusive Education Process, without the need to submit them again to the Regional Department of Education.
The changes strengthen educational support for students so that their education is more complete and tailored to their individual capabilities. The reduction of teaching hours in the teaching schedule cannot exceed 50%. When it is proposed to drop a given subject, the support team should present specific reasons, and the decision is made after the parent has familiarized himself with them. These texts have already been introduced in the Curriculum Regulation.
The organization of additional support for personal development, which is provided by kindergartens, schools and centers for special educational support, is also clarified. The joint work between the teams and social and health specialists in specific cases in which the child needs more complex support is more clearly regulated. This will help create specific rules for interaction between the different institutions, so that children receive more comprehensive care.
Another change concerns the organization of additional support for personal development, which is provided by kindergartens, schools and centers for special educational support. A clearer regulation is proposed for the joint work between the teams and social and health specialists in specific cases in which the child needs more complex support. This will help create specific rules for interaction between different institutions so that children receive more comprehensive care.
The project also updates specific texts and terms in the Regulation to bring them into line with already adopted and effective legislation.