LEGAL SYSTEM
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 Institute for Further Education, Institute for Information in Education, Institute for Evaluation in Education.
The right of all children to be educated is enshrined in the Constitution of the Czech Republic (Ústava Èeské republiky No 1/1993). The Constitution says 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 comprehensive character is the governmental resolution:
- No. 466 of June 1992 – „National Plan of the Support to Persons with Disabilities“,
- No 256 of 14 of April 1998 "National Plan of Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities”.
- In the year 2004 the „Strategy of the National Policy towards Persons with Disability“ was approved by the government. Based on this strategy the new governmental resolution was developed and approved by the government in August 2005 (No. 1004/2005.) www.vlada.cz) .
This last 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 development document on educational is the Long Term National Strategy of Development in Education which is approved by the government and then by the Parliament. The approved document is revised every two years.
Education of children, pupils and students is a standard part of the mentioned strategic document.
Based on the Long Term National Strategy on Development in Education each of 14 regions in the Czech Republic are obliged to create their own Regional Developmental Plan.
By the Act on Sign Language that was approved in 1998, the importance of the sign language for the education of pre-lingual deaf was legally recognised. The act guarantees the right for education of deaf children by means of sign language, guarantees the access to sign language interpretation to students at upper secondary level of education as well as the access to courses of the sign language for parents of deaf children. Needless to say using the sign language in education of pupils with hearing impairment was already a practice quarantined 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 (came in force in January 2005). This Act presents a new definition of students with special educational needs and individual target groups - students with mental, sensory or physical disabilities, students with speech impairments, students with multiple disabilities, autism, students with specific learning and behavioural difficulties, chronically ill and socially disadvantaged students.
Special focus is given to the education of gifted and talented students, too.
The Act on Education guarantees that the support provisions and services needed in special education are to be available to children, pupils and/or students with special needs at all levels of education. Pupils with special needs have the right to be provided with the teaching books, 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 the alternative communication and/or sign language have to be used for those students who cannot profit from using the oral language. Braille print is used for students who cannot read regular print. Compensatory aid, additional staff is available as well. The process of education of pupils with special needs can be described and adapted through the individual educational plans.
This School Act underlines and encourages links between special education and ordinary schools and reinforces the trend towards integration of pupils with special educational needs into mainstream schools. It is recognised that pupils with special needs are visiting their local school unless their parents did not choose other school. The role of parents in making the decision concerning education of their child has been stressed by the Act on Education.
Legal System in Mainstream Education
According to the Act on Education, the content of education must comply with The Frame Educational Programmes (www.VUPPRAHA.cz ).
Process of education has to be organised in a way to meet the age level and abilities of pupils and to promote pupils’ healthy growth and development.
The Frame Educational Programme for Basic Education is the national framework covering both mainstream and special education and it is used as the basis for drawing up “school curricula”. Each school is responsible to develop this document that must also include a description of the provision for pupils with special needs. It also emphasizes learning environment and school’s operational culture, the conception of learning, cross-curricular themes in teaching, individual support and guidance and pupil welfare.
The implementation of the new curriculum is to take place gradually and it is assumed that each school will implement its school curriculum by September 2007. The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports is supporting schools in this implementation process by training the teachers and school head teachers and providing guidance and counselling. The coordinators of the implementation process at the school level are receiving training in training programmes and schools are provided with guidance and support.
The convergence of ordinary and special education is supported through the Frame Educational Programmes. The national programme for compulsory education is tailored to cover education of children with special needs, too.
The students with severe and profound mental disability, autism and complex needs are offered to follow the Frame Educational Programme for Special Needs Education tailored to meet their needs and built up on the principles of the national programme for compulsory education and reflecting the students´ special needs.
The Act on Education codifies teaching of students 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 of specific subjects such as sign language, speech therapy, Braille print, mobility and orientation, 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 the support of development of individual abilities of children, pupils and students at schools, for instance through extended education in certain subjects, and also enables gifted pupils to skip a grade.
An 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 students 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 enlarged. Within this programme a special training programme has been developed for pedagogical assistants from Roma community. Through their supportive work in the classroom, these assistants are functioning as a school - family link.
In the area of integration of foreigners the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports has developed a programme to support integration policy for 2004-2006. Within its framework projects of multicultural education of children and youth, Czech language courses of the Czech language as a foreign language, and education of migrant foreigners are supported.
The legal provisions governing the pre-school education of children with special needs are laid down in the Act on Education, too. Among other issues the Act guarantees that the pre-school education is free of charge one year before the child continues in compulsory education.
The Frame Educational Programme is reflecting the needs of the target group. Game 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 education provided by the basic schools following 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 students 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 stages (levels):
First level [1-5 grades] corresponding to the primary level,
Second level [6-9 grades] corresponding to the lower secondary level.
The start of the compulsory education can be postponed according to the child’s needs till the school year in which a child reaches 8-th year of age. The compulsory education of students with special needs can be 10 years. Also children who repeated a grade because of school failure, illness etc., can visit basic school one year more.
Pupils with profound special needs are allowed to continue their basic education till 26 years of age.
Students generally receive support as concerns 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 the school consultant, who is responsible (beside his/her teaching duties) for such counselling. This consultant is in contact with parents and social partners, too. He helps students with educational, vocational and labour market orientation. Special attention is given to the students with special needs. Students can also use the special counselling services outside the school. These services (more in part 4) enable the student to draw up his/her action plan by approximation of his/her notions and strengths.
