IDENTIFICATION OF SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

Primary level students with severe and persistent learning difficulties are identified by their teacher, who implements a personalised educational success programme (PPRE) with the help of specialised educators from the assistance networks for students with learning difficulties.
When these students reach secondary school age and if their learning difficulties persist, they are registered by the departmental orientation commission, which will refer them to the adapted general and professional schooling sections (SEGPA).

Disabled students
Law no. 75-534 of June 30, 1975 on the orientation of disabled persons introduced the legal concept of the disabled person.
The law of February 11, 2005 on the equality of rights and opportunities, participation and citizenship of disabled persons, provided a definition of disability:
"According to the present law, a disability is the limitation of activity or restriction in participation in the social environment suffered by a person due to a substantial, enduring or definitive alteration of one or several physical, sensorial, mental, cognitive or psychic functions, a multiple disability or a disabling health disorder."
The evaluation of needs, to which every disabled child is entitled according to the law, is performed by a multidisciplinary evaluation team appointed by the commission for rights and autonomy (CDA) of the departmental house of disabled persons (MDPH), which decides upon the applicable legal measure(s) of assistance;

- Assistance available to families:

Education benefit for disabled children (AEEH)
Invalidity certificate
Specialised transportation

- Educational, therapeutic or orientation measures, either in specialised classes or units in ordinary schools, or through placement in specialised schools under the authority of the Ministry of Education or of the medico-educational sector.
- The law of February 11 creates the obligation to ensure that the student is offered school attendance in an ordinary school environment close to home whenever possible.

In order for the family to be able to benefit from financial assistance or other services, the child's degree of disability must be officially assessed on the basis of the reference scale created by decree no. 93-1216 (04/11/1993).
Moreover, in order to select the educational or therapeutic measures adapted to the child's individual situation, the CDA will refer to the nomenclature of deficiencies, incapacities and disadvantages (order of 09/01/1989), which is the French version of the WHO nomenclature.

Children and adolescents in medical care
The decision to admit or release children and adolescents to/from medical institutions is made on medical authority.