The German-speaking Community Parliament adopted a text aimed at reforming the special education landscape at its plenary session on Monday evening.
With a proposal for a special decree approved by 22 MPs and two representatives of Vivant who abstained, a "centre for inclusive education" will see the light of day.
This reform seeks to meet the increasing demand for human resources dedicated to intensive support in mainstream schools, with the ultimate goal of fostering an inclusive education system.
"Our aim is to transfer knowledge from special education schools to mainstream ones. Every pupil needs to be supported and stimulated according to their individual needs," said Education Minister Lydia Klinkenberg.
"Thanks to the reform launched in 2021, we will bring together all of the German-speaking Community's expertise in special education in a new independent public institution, so that in the future we will be able to use existing human resources for intensive support in mainstream schools in an even more targeted way, in the interests of pupils."
This new institution will start operating in 2026, with preparatory work beginning this coming autumn.
Enhancing coordination
The text will have a concrete impact, as all integration teachers will be grouped together within this new institution, which will constitute the future advice and support service, enabling centralised management, coordination, and monitoring of integration projects.
This should enable better coordination of existing support options for mainstream schools. "The training of support teams is intended to strengthen knowledge of special education in ordinary schools, in line with the objective of a more inclusive education system," added the Minister.
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This comprises the first stage of the reform. The second phase will be implemented as part of an ordinary decree that is currently being prepared.
Once finalised, the reform aims to "ensure high-quality and inclusive education in a learning environment where all students are supported and stimulated according to their individual needs and potential," said the Minister's cabinet.
They concluded by stating that additional training in special education will be fully incorporated into primary teacher training, enabling mainstream schools to organise support for students with long-term special educational needs themselves.
