Dismantling barriers and advancing disability-inclusive education: an examination of national laws and policies across 193 countries

ABSTRACT

Disability-inclusive laws and policies – while not sufficient on their own to advance substantive equality – are an essential step that all countries can take to advance non-discrimination and equity in education for children and youth with disabilities. This is the first study to comprehensively review national law and policy guarantees in 193 countries to assess the extent to which countries have harmonized national laws and policies with international commitments to inclusive education articulated in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Sustainable Development Goals. While strong guarantees exist across diverse countries, we find that notable gaps remain. Forty-six percent of countries do not broadly prohibit disability-based discrimination through the completion of secondary education. Legislation in 35% of countries does not guarantee persons with disabilities access to integrated education in mainstream education environments along with necessary individualized accommodations through the completion of secondary school. Thirty-one percent of countries that make primary education compulsory do not pair compulsory education with guarantees to integration in mainstream education environments and individualized supports for students with disabilities. These findings can inform reforms in countries without national guarantees and bolster support for implementation in countries where strong legal guarantees to inclusive education already exist.

KEYWORDS:

• national education law
• comparative policy analysis
• primary
• secondary
• inclusive education
• discrimination

Acknowledgements:

While the findings presented here are the responsibility of the authors, this work is deeply indebted to the collective vision and wealth of experience shared by members of an international advisory board of experts and leaders from DPOS, multilateral organizations, research centers, and more—who provided input at every stage of the project (https://www.worldpolicycenter.org/about/networks-and-advisory-groups/advancing-the-realization-of-the-right-to-education-and-work-for-youth-with-disabilities). Additionally, this manuscript builds on the work of the database coding team which includes Rachel Bleetman, Daniel Franken, Gonzalo Moreno, Brianna Pierce, and Ross Weistroffer. We are deeply grateful for their work.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Ford Foundation.

Notes on contributors

Willetta Waisath

Willetta Waisath is a Senior Research Analyst and Research Manager at the WORLD Policy Analysis Center at the Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles. Waisath guides the development of law and policy databases, leads analyses, and has translated findings on inclusive policy design to government and civil society stakeholders in diverse settings globally.

Michael McCormack

Michael McCormack is a Policy Analyst at the WORLD Policy Analysis Center at the University of California at Los Angeles, and a former economic policy associate at The Century Foundation. He was also a researcher at the Center for Social Policy at UMass Boston and an organizer in the student and labour movement at UMass Amherst with the Student Labor Action Project.

Pam Stek

Pam Stek is a Writer and Editor at the WORLD Policy Analysis Center at the University of California at Los Angeles. Stek is a historian with a background focused on how public policy shapes equity and equality.

Jody Heymann

Jody Heymann is founding director of the WORLD Policy Analysis Center, and Distinguished Professor at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Luskin School of Public Affairs, and Geffen School of Medicine. She served as dean of the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health from 2013–2018. Heymann has authored and edited more than 450 publications, including 18 books. Selected titles include Advancing Equality: How Constitutional Rights Can Make a Difference for Everyone (University of California Press, 2020), Disability and Equity at Work (Oxford University Press, 2014), Changing Children’s Chances (Harvard University Press, 2013), and Lessons in Educational Equality (Oxford University Press, 2012). Heymann was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 2013 and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences in 2012.