Schools’ discrimination of pupils with health needs out of order

Cases before the Workplace Relations Commission show discrimination by schools of children with special requirements is not uncommon. It shows mixed up priorities on the part of schools, where children should be the primary concern at all times, writes Michael Clifford

Photo credit: Luke Kelly Meli, above, has cerebral palsy and was denied his assistance dog at school and was awarded €5,500 in August. Another school refused to take an emergency kit for a child with anaphylaxis and has to pay out €9,000. Picture: Eric Luke/The Irish Times

LAST month this newspaper highlighted a case in which a boy with cerebral palsy was awarded €5,500 by the Workplace Relations Commission for discrimination over how he had been treated at his primary school.