Families take legal challenges over special school places
The education minister faces a fresh round of legal challenges from families attempting to secure their children’s right to a place for the new school year. Picture: iStock
The education minister is facing a fresh round of legal challenges from several families attempting to secure their children’s right to a place for the new school year.
Families of children without appropriate school places for September have launched legal action against the minister and the National Council for Special Education (NCSE).
Solicitor Niamh Maher of Healy Law LLP confirmed that the firm is representing a “large number” of parents whose children have no school place for September.
“The most vulnerable children are currently being denied the most basic right to an appropriate education,” Ms Maher said.
“The numbers of children without appropriate school placements remains extremely high this year, despite assurances to the contrary by the minister.”
Parents attempting to source a place in either a special school or special class attached to a mainstream school faced an “additional hurdle” this year, Ms Maher said.
Under the Parents Notify process, families were told they had until October 1, 2025, to submit relevant documentation to the NCSE to obtain a letter of eligibility necessary to apply for a school place.
“The legality of this requirement is currently being challenged before the courts,” Ms Maher said.
“Despite this, the NCSE have now set a deadline of September 1 for parents applying for the school year 2027/2028, which will be simply impossible for most parents to achieve as they are awaiting reports from the HSE or other State bodies.”
In February, the NCSE issued an update to parents, confirming it had advised the Department of Education of an “increasing number” of children who came to its attention after the October deadline.
The NCSE said it was now in a position to issue further letters of eligibility.
However, the admissions window for many schools had passed by this stage.
Last week, the department announced it was bringing forward the deadline to apply for 2027/28 by a further month to September.
It has faced criticism from parents and opposition parties for doing so while the schools are closed for the summer holidays.
The department has not provided an updated figure on the number of students requiring special educational school places for September 2026.
However, it plans to open four special schools and 584 special classes this September.
This includes 68 so-called “special inclusive” classes, a model that has raised concerns amongst parents and advocacy groups.
The department initially announced plans to open five such classes earlier this year, prompting calls from AsIAm and Inclusion Ireland to pause the rollout.
This type of provision will be available in mainstream schools that already have a special class open.
Schools will be provided with extra resourcing but not extra space, and there will be an emphasis on integrating students into mainstream as much as possible, while accessing the pre-existing class as required.
Adam Harris, the chief executive of AsIAm, said the organisation remains concerned that the Department of Education is “moving at pace, in an unprecedented manner”, to roll out these classes without any consultation with autistic children, families or their representative organisations.
He described this as “a flagrant breach of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.”
A department spokesperson said it never initiates legal action in relation to special school placements.
"The department’s aim is that no parent ever has the need to take a case against the State, and where this happens, we continue to work with parents to ensure that solutions are found as quickly as possible. The facts demonstrate that most cases are resolved or withdrawn, outside the legal process and that children are supported. When a legal case is initiated, the State is legally required to respond, and we apply the attorney general’s guidance to find solutions as early as possible.
We remain mindful of the impact that cases like these can have on everyone involved and are committed to progressing these matters respectfully and in line with guidance from the Office of the Attorney General."
- Jess Casey, Education Correspondent
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