Students in the process of guiding children with special needs Natalija Vovk-Ornik Ljubljana, 10th September 2009 Conference YOU + I = TOGETHER The Slovenian Association of Disabled Students and the Special Education Associaton of Slovenia

SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS CENTRE SENIOR CONSULTANTS FOR PROCEDURES OF GUIDING CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS Conducting and ruling in the procedures of guiding children with special needs COMMISSIONS FOR GUIDING CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS HEADS OF COMMISSIONS FOR GUIDING Preparing expert opinions SENATES Senates and specialized senates (for deaf and hard of hearing, for blind and partially sighted, for physically impaired children) Standing members of the commission or senate for guiding: defectologist, psychologist, paediatrics specialist doctor, school medicine specialist doctor Extended senate: List of experts – specialized defectologists (tiflopedagogue, surdopedagogue, logopedia expert), social pedagogue, pedopsychiatry specialist, neurology specialist, psychiatry specialist, other specialist doctors), Also taking part – childcare worker, teacher, social worker Koper 1 commission Nova Gorica 1 Kranj 2 Ljubljana 8 Novo mesto 2 Celje 1 Slovenj Gradec 1 Maribor 3 Murska Sobota 1

Študentje v procesu usmerjanja otrok s posebnimi potrebami Center za usmerjanje otrok s posebnimi potrebami Placement of Children with Special Needs Act (Official Gazette, No. 3/07, UPB1) Article 3, paragraph 2: ….students with special needs, entering study programmes in accordance with the higher education law, should be given extra equipment according to the statutes of the higher education institution. (?) The law does not define what extra equipment is needed. Students can no longer be guided on the basis of existing legislation, since Placement of Children with Special Needs Act does not define the programmes. Students can however, according to Article 39 of the above mentioned act, exercise certain rights, which have been formerly claimed on the basis of findings and opinions of the commission for assignment, the difference being that the decision is now made on the basis of expert opinion of the commission for guiding. Moreover, one can exercise the rights, obtained on the basis of findings and opinions following the Pension and Disability Insurance Act.

According to article 31 of Placement of Children with Special Needs Act, the examination of guidance appropriateness is no longer compulsory. The commission can set a deadline for examination, which must not be shorter than one year or longer than five years. Consequently: A secondary school student is guided in the 1st year of studying, with the decision remaining in force till his/her transition to the next study level, i.e. till the end of secondary school. After that, the National Education Institute no longer issues a decision. Formal guidance of secondary school students is thus finished. A high school student with special needs can submit an application to the competent authority at university: -If he/she has already been guided (with an issued expert opinion and decision on guidance) or -If he/she has medical problems during his/her studying at university, proven by medical documents, or -If he/she has obtained the status of a disabled person according to Pension and Disability Insurance Act.

2005/ / / /2009 Number of students in secondary school 97,885 students 96,310 students91,623 students87,501 students GUIDED students (number of issued decisions in calendar year) 1095 guided students 1.10 % of the whole secondary school population 1449 guided students 1.50% of the whole secondary school population 1439 guided students 1.57 % of the whole secondary school population 2157 guided students 2.46 % of the whole secondary school population

A few points for discussion: 1.Data shows an increase in the number of guided students in secondary schools, resulting in an increase in the number of applications for obtaining a status of a student with special needs. 2.Groups of children/youth with special needs do not include only physically impaired children but also other, like blind and partially sighted, deaf and hard of hearing, children with long term illnesses, children with speech-language disorders and children with particular learning disabilities. 3. Instructions for implementation of educational programmes in secondary professional and vocational schools and in general upper secondary schools with necessary adjustments and additional expert help. 4. According to existing legislation, adjusted programme implementation ends with the termination of secondary school education. Due to the legal vacuum incurred at this point, the National Education Institute and Ministry of Education and Sport have put forward an initiative for interdepartmental coordination and looking for solutions regulating the status of a student with special needs.