LEGAL SYSTEM
The Portuguese education system is organized according to a set of structures and diverse action programmes led by under the responsibility of different institutions, state-owned and private, aiming at the right to education for all.
The Ministry of Education coordinates the education policies independently from the institutions that are part of it.
The general and specific principles upon which the organization of the Portuguese education system is based in Comprehensive Law relating to the Education System (46/86 of 14th October) and a proposal of an amendment to it is waiting to be approved.
Portuguese education system is composed of kindergarten and pre-school, school education and further education. School education covers basic, secondary and higher education and also some specific kinds of structures among which special needs education.
The legal framework of special needs education at basic and secondary levels is sustained by the provisions set in set Law nš 319/91 of 23rd August and by Law 6/2001 of 18th January, the legal tools that protect the rights of SNE pupils and their opportunity to have access to mainstream schools.
A set of measures meant to address the special needs of these pupils are devised in Law nš 105/97 of 1st July with the amendments introduced by Law nš 10856/2005 of 13th May, which establishes plans of intervention focused upon the school, as the centre of the educational actions, extended through support nets of educational and training resources.
