DEVELOPMENT OF INTEGRATION/INCLUSION

The movement towards integration and inclusion of pupils with special needs started in the middle of 1990’s. The Law on Education stated that every child has the right to obtain his/her education in the school of his/her parents’ choice.
The Ministry of Education and Science has always supported the idea that both trends in special education – special schools (groups, classes) and integration (inclusion) in mainstream schools – should exist in Latvia.

Due to the very low birth rate during the last decade the number of pupils in schools has diminished. This has lead to the situation that every school needs all the children of the local community to attend it to prevent the closure of some classes or even the whole school.

In this situation more and more mainstream schools and pre-school institutions adapt their curriculum or license new curricula to offer them to children and young persons with different kinds of special needs. To ensure that schools and pre-school institutions have teachers who understands how to work with children with disabilities, universities and colleges offer in-service training for teachers to acquire the qualifications of special teachers. Because of the above mentioned tendency the number of pupils in special schools and boarding schools diminishes.

But we have to mention that the process of integration/inclusion is not unequivocal. Not all mainstream schools can provide the best support and learning environment the pupil needs. The attitude of society in general including parents, children, and school staff  do not always permit good terms of integration/inclusion of pupils with SEN.
There is strong political will and support of NGOs to move forward with integration/inclusion of children and young persons with different disabilities into mainstream education system.

The main task of the Ministry of Education and Science, local boards of education and municipality authorities is to provide the best possible conditions for pupils with special needs in the mainstream education institutions.

To promote the integration/inclusion policy the new financing system is under development, it is the so called “backpack” system, where money follows the child.