Legal system - Czech Republic

The Parliament enacts laws on education and decides on the general principles of education policy. The Government and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports implement these principles into the national policy at the central government level. The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports is in charge of the administration of education, youth issues and sports.

In matters related to comprehensive, secondary, higher education, vocational training and adult education, the Ministry is assisted by expert institutions – Research Pedagogical Institute, Institute of Pedagogical and Psychological Counselling, National Institute of Vocational Training, National Pedagogical Institute, Institute for Information in Education, Institute for Evaluation in Education.

The right for all children to be educated is enshrined in the Constitution of the Czech Republic (Ústava České republiky No 1/1993). The Constitution states that everybody is equal in accessing the law and according to the law. Everyone has the equal opportunity to receive education.  Everyone also has the right to basic and secondary education free of charge.

One of the most important documents of a comprehensive character related to persons with a disability is the National Plan of Integration and Support of Persons with Disabilities for the period 2006 – 2008. The new document for the next period will follow.

The above mentioned important document contains the main aims, tasks and principles for implementing the inclusion policy into practice concerning health, culture, social and educational policy.

A central document on education is the Long-term National Strategy of Development in Education which is discussed and approved by the government and then approved by the Parliament. The approved document is revised every two years.

Education of children, pupils and pupils with special needs is a standard part of the mentioned strategic document.

Based on the Long Term National Strategy on Development in Education,   each of the 14 regions in the Czech Republic are obliged to formulate their own Long-term Regional Strategy of development in Education for the particular region. 

Due to the Act on Sign Language that was approved in 1998 and with the amendments approved in 2008, the importance of sign language for the education of pupils with a hearing impairment as well as the use of other alternative communication systems including specific systems of communication for deaf-and-blind persons,  was legally recognised and stressed. The Act guarantees the right to education for deaf children by means of sign language, guarantees the access to sign language interpretation for upper secondary level pupils, as well as the access to courses in sign language for parents of deaf children. Needless to say , using sign language in the education of pupils a  with hearing impairment was already a practice enshrined by the previous Act on Education No 29/1984 and its amendments.

The new Act on Education regulating the whole system of education in the Czech Republic was approved in September 2004 (which came in force in January 2005). This Act presents the definition of pupils with special educational needs and individual target groups - pupils with mental, sensory or physical disabilities, pupils with speech and language impairments, pupils with multiple disabilities, autism, pupils with specific learning and behavioural difficulties, chronically ill and socially disadvantaged pupils. There is also focus on the education of gifted and talented pupils.

The Act on Education guarantees that the support provisions and services required in supporting the access to education of pupils with special needs  are to be available to children, pupils and/or pupils at all levels of education. Pupils with special needs have the right to be provided with adapted text books, with specific teaching materials, compensatory and rehabilitation equipment and tools as well as with support and counselling services, free of charge. The Act on Education guarantees that alternative communication and/or sign language will be available for those pupils who cannot profit from using oral language.  Braille print is available for pupils who cannot read regular print.  Additional staff are available, as well as individual educational plans which describe the conditions necessary for successful learning when dealing with a pupil with special needs. The process of the education of pupils with special needs has the features of differentiation, individualisation and adaptation tailored to meet the needs of pupils and their diversity.

The School Act reinforces the trend towards integration and inclusion of pupils with special educational needs into mainstream schools. It is recognised that pupils with special needs attend their local school unless their parents choose another school. The role of parents in the decision-making concerning the education of their child is crucial. 

Legal System in Mainstream Education

According to the Act on Education, the content of education must comply with The Frame Educational Programmes . The process of education has to be organised taking into consideration the age level and abilities of the pupils and to promote pupils’ healthy growth and development.

The Frame Educational Programme for Basic Education is a national document covering both mainstream and special education and  is used as the basis for compiling the “school curricula”. Each school is responsible for the development of this school level document that also has to include a description of the provision for pupils with special needs. The school educational programme also emphasises the learning environment and operational culture of the school, the conception of learning, cross-curricular themes in teaching, individual support and guidance and pupils welfare.

The curricular reform was implemented by the Act on Education. Since September 2007, all schools in the Czech Republic have been implementing their own School Educational Programmes. The process started with first grades. The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports is supporting schools in this implementation process by training teachers and school head teachers, providing guidance and counselling and providing the required resources. The co-ordinators of the implementation process at the school level are receiving training, in training programmes, and schools are provided with guidance and support. 

Also the convergence of ordinary and special education is supported through the Frame Educational Programmes. The national programme for compulsory education is also tailored to cover the education of pupils with special needs.

Pupils with severe and profound mental disabilities, autism and complex needs are given the opportunity to follow the Frame Educational Programme for Special Needs Education tailored to meet their needs and built upon the principles of the national programme for compulsory education, reflecting the pupils´ special needs.

The Act on Education codifies teaching of pupils with special needs by additional provisions and supportive measures that may be described in the individual educational plan in favour of the pupils. The supportive measures are e.g. additional teaching staff, additional teaching hours covering also specific subjects such as sign language, speech therapy, reading and writing in Braille print, mobility and orientation training, guidance and counselling, availability of specific teaching materials, books, compensatory aid, specific assessment arrangements etc.

At the same time, the Act on Education leaves open the possibility to establish independent schools or classes for pupils with disabilities.
The Act on Education explicitly stresses support toward the development of the individual abilities of pupils as for instance, pupils receiving extended education in certain subjects or enabling gifted pupils to skip a grade.

Increased attention is paid to the education of Roma children who represent a substantial part of socially disadvantaged pupils. The programmes "The support of Roma pupils at upper secondary schools", "The support of Roma community integration", "Schools with a full day programme" are still in progress, a network of preparatory classes has grown. Within this programme a special training programme has been developed for pedagogical assistants from the Roma community. Through their supportive work in the classroom, these assistants are functioning as a school - family link.

In the area of the integration of foreigners the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports has developed a programme to support integration policy. Within its framework, projects for the  multicultural education of children and youths, Czech language courses with the Czech language as a foreign language, and the education of migrant foreigners are supported.

The legal provisions governing the pre-school education of children with special needs are also stated in the Act on Education. Among other issues the Act guarantees that pre-school education is free of charge in the year prior to compulsory education.
The Frame Educational Programme reflects the needs of the target group. Playing games is the most important method in pre-school education. Pre-school education is not compulsory.

Compulsory education in the Czech Republic means an obligation to participate in the education provided by schools. All schools follow the approved Frame Educational Programme. 
Each school has to implement the Frame Educational Programme into its School Educational Programme.

The School Educational Programme reflects the special needs of pupils and besides the regular subjects the programme consists of subjects such as speech therapy, mobility orientation, sign language, rehabilitation etc.

The basic schools provide nine years of compulsory education. Compulsory education is divided into two levels:

• First level (year 1-5) corresponds to the primary level
• Second level (year 6-9) corresponds to the lower secondary level.

Starting compulsory education can be postponed according to the child’s needs until the child is 8 or turns 8 during the school year.The compulsory education of pupils with special needs can be up to 10 years.  Children, who need to repeat a year for some reason i.e. illness, may attend basic school for one extra year. 
Pupils with profound special needs are allowed to continue their basic education until the age of 26.
Pupils generally receive support concerning their choice of further education and professional career by means of special guidance and counselling. The head teacher at each school (mainstream as well as special school) appoints a school consultant, who is responsible (beside his/her teaching duties) for such counselling. This consultant helps pupils with educational, vocational and labour market orientation and is also in contact with parents and social partners. Special attention is given to the pupils with special needs. Pupils can also use the special counselling services outside the school. These services (more in the section Special Needs Education within the Education System) enable the pupil to draw up his/her action plan by focusing on his/her notions and strengths.