No plans to implement 11-year-old disability law

The Government has no plans to implement a law passed 11 years ago to give automatic entitlement to school care and teaching support to children with disabilities.

The UN committee on economic, social, and cultural rights recommended a fortnight ago that the Government implement the 2004 Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs (Epsen) Act.

Only parts of the law have been brought into effect, but not those which would entitle students to full assessments of the supports needed to allow them participate in education and to have the necessary resources provided in accordance with an individual education plan.