[95] The 2016 Charter on Citizenry Rights provides that persons with disabilities must enjoy education and opportunities to develop their skills consistent with their capabilities, and no one should be deprived of the opportunity to acquire knowledge or job skills due to their disabilities.[96] The governments education regulations also commit to make the mainstream education content and school environment accessible for students with disabilities. Carrie Jung. He explained, Everyone speaks in sign language in my school, my teachers and all my classmates. 4, paras. Ahmad has worked for a few years as a resource teacher for blind students in a major city in southern Iran. Miranda Pichardo, 6, reads with her mother, Karina, on Oct. 19, 2016, in Spring, Texas. Students with severe vision impairments or who are blind need an Expanded Core Curriculum to teach compensatory skills, . Everyone else was on the same page. Blind children also face multiple barriers accessing quality educational material. Cookies are used throughout the Web. The Challenge of Teaching Students With Visual Disabilities From Afar [62] Researcher interview with Ghasem, teacher in mainstream high schools for boys, Tehran, May 20, 2017. ET. Law Establishing Special Education Organization ( ) December 12, 1990, https://rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/91853 (accessed February 7, 2017). All other teachers in the school are as busy as you are, so you should not expect support from anyone.[91], Amin, a special school teacher with experience teaching children with different disabilities said that professional development courses are only offered for teaching methods for deaf students and students with intellectual disabilities, and that he is not aware of any training available for teachers teaching children with other types of disabilities.[92]. The CRPD Committee also notes that the realization of the right to education requires that the entire education system be accessible, including buildings, information and communication, curriculum, education materials, teaching methods, assessment and language and support services, transportation, water, hygiene and toilet facilities, school cafeterias, and recreational spaces. Irans Constitution guarantees free education for all until the end of secondary school. Edmonds and several other teachers of the visually impaired and orientation and mobility specialists said they will continue using some of the new technological tools and strategies they have learned as in-person teaching resumes. The study of social inclusion of visually impaired children in the main school is an interesting one. Mainstream education settings should ensure that the needs of all students are addressed and that all barriers which can potentially hinder their participation be removed. Irans Special Education Organization under the Ministry of Education is responsible for the education of children considered educable. The State Welfare Organization is responsible for children deemed ineducable. Children with intellectual disabilities or autism with an IQ below 50 may access rehabilitation, education, speech therapy, and occupational therapy in SWOs day centers and receive preparation to join the special education system. Some children manage to pass the test [Educability Assessment] in subsequent years and end up doing well at school, one SWO official in a 2018 television interview said. These needs may relate to physical, learning, hearing or visual difficulties; to social, emotional, and behavioural difficulties; or to autistic spectrum disorders. . Share this via Telegram [9], There are no reliable official statistics on the number of out-of-school children in Iran, including children with disabilities. Share with the Iranian government models of good practice on guaranteeing quality, inclusive education for children with disabilities, at all levels of the educational system. Provisions for Education of Persons with Visual Impairment He keeps crying and telling me that he doesnt want to go to school anymore, which is really heartbreaking for me, Manis mother added.[36]. We interviewed 14 parents of children with different disabilities, and 4 children with disabilities all above 12. [13] Iranian law also requires the national census to collect data on people with disabilities, including the type of disability.[14]. Individuals who have one tenth or less of the visual acuity in their eye with good sight or individuals with less than 20 degrees of visual field after all corrections are accepted to have visual. 3 For fall 2010 through fall 2018, school-age students include students . Ehsan, a man with a physical disability living in a small town in western Iran, said that the single special school in his town where students with all types of disabilities enroll is not physically accessible. The Blind Child in the Regular Elementary Classroom Not all mainstream schools enroll children with disabilities. I couldnt learn anything, so my school marks dropped off a lot, Sahar explained.[88]. [86] Researcher interviews with Ghasem, teacher in mainstream high schools for boys, Tehran, May 20, 2017; and with Shamsi, teacher in mainstream high school for girls, May 28, 2017. No child should be considered uneducable or otherwise excluded from education. [8] Approximately 65,000 children with disabilities attended mainstream schools and 85,000 attended special schools. At time of writing, it had yet to respond. Another good option for some students is placement at a school for the blind that partners with a mainstream public high school. [8] According to World Health Organization, 10-15 percent of worlds population live with some disability. Such challenges can be categorized as general challenges that might have an impact on disabled students regardless of the disability type and specific challenges that are related to the type. Mainstreaming/Mainstream education/settings - IIEP Policy Toolbox Other ways to share For example, you may feel your child would be happier attending the same school as their brothers or sisters, or friends in the local community. I went to mainstream school as a totally blind kid in the UK in the 1990's and early 2000's. I had a fantastic experience. SC039316) and the Isle of Man (no. 2023 Editorial Projects in Education, Inc. A larger group, 32 per cent, attend other types of special schools for example, ones that are especially equipped to support children with learning or physical difficulties. [66] In some cases, added costs of accessing local mainstream schools have compelled some children to attend residential schools. Produced by Lynsea Garrison , Will Reid and Sydney Harper. In other instances, we find another mainstream school willing to register the child. Mahrokh said that as a result of these denials and the lack of nearby special schools, some children with disabilities remain out of education.[41]. A list of schools with a VI-resource base is available at VICTA. One device that helps blind students is a voicebox-and-software package that reads aloud the words displayed on a computer screen. 4, para. This year, [2018-2019 academic year], I found a school with ramps. Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more. [21] Korchin, S. J., Clinical psychology and minority problems, American Psychologist, 1980, 35(3), 262; Padilla, A. M., & Medina, A. None of the interviewees received financial or other incentives for speaking with the researcher. [17] Directive on the Implementation of Physical Health and Educability Assessment of Primary School Beginners, ( ) 1394 (2015) Directive No. Since the number of teachers needed is more than these graduates, the Special Education Organization also employs people as teachers who have not received teaching training. You have been subscribed to WBUR Today. Once they built an entrance ramp, but it was too steep and useless, he added. 9 and 12(c). The amount of extended time a student receives can range from 150% (time and a half) to 300% (triple time) Sahar described her boarding school experience in a sad tone: Sahar and her sister faced difficulties remaining in contact with their family: The governments efforts to improve physical accessibility in schools have not consistently met the actual needs of people with disabilities. "Just Like Other Kids": Lack of Access to Inclusive Quality Education At local assessment sites, a doctor and a nurse first examine the physical health of the child. However, if doing so would prevent other children from being educated efficiently, or you request a special school, a special school would be named instead. 1 and 5. Ensure education for students with disabilities, particularly for students who are deaf, blind, or deafblind, is delivered in the most appropriate languages and modes and means of communication for the individual, and in environments which maximize academic and social development, in line with the CRPD. [53] UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, General Comment No. [19] Children with an IQ below 25 are categorized as care-needing and may be placed in State Welfare Organization (SWO) residential institution. [46] Researcher interview with Amin, teacher working in a special school for boys, Tehran suburbs, June 8, 2017. They are grouped as trainable (IQ of 25-50) and care-needing (an IQ below 25). He is not happy in the special school and no mainstream school accepts him. Pupils can still attend daily if they live close enough to make daily travelling possible. At Human Rights Watch: Jane Buchanan, deputy director in the Disability Rights Division, edited the report. Repeal the regulations that allow children to be determined uneducable and excluded from education. Registered in England and Wales (no. For children who use sign language and attend mainstream schools where there may not be any or many other children who are deaf, schools can promote access to deaf culture and interaction between deaf children by cooperating with municipalities, other schools, and organizations of persons with disabilities. Full reports are available inour Education research section. In some ways, COVID has shown what the advantages of doing things remotely can be, Richert said, and, of course, also exacerbated all of those same challenges that weve had.. Reading and Retention Mandates: Is it Effective? Is there a range of ICT equipment that my child could access? The initial research of this report was conducted during a joint project by Human Rights Watch and the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI, formerly the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran) between June 2016 and July 2018. [89] Researcher interview with Ghasem, mainstream teacher in high schools for boys, Tehran, May 20, 2017. [40] Researcher interview with Sirous, May 10, 2018. The student-teacher ratio is worsening, with many teachers scheduled to retire within the next few years. How is the type and amount of support that my child will need decided? [52] Facilities should be physically accessible to students, as should the education schools offer. If my child needs to use a communication system other than speech, what system will be used and how many other children in the school use this? A list of specialist schools for children with VI is available at VICTA. School Shootings This Year: How Many and Where, Reevaluating My Language Around Disability, How Schools Can Invest in Improving Student Literacy, PLCs in Action: How K-12 Leaders Raise the Bar for Success. While the CRPD Committee acknowledges that availability of resources and financial implications should be considered when assessing whether provision of a certain accommodation poses a disproportionate burden, using the lack of resources and financial crises as justification for failure to make progress towards inclusive education violates the right to education. Mahtab said that Mani does not like the special school because there are few children in a mixed-age classroom, and he misses attending school with his peers and neighbors. Share this via Twitter There are separate schools for boys and girls, and schools can be public or private. He relies on his limited hearing and the skills he has developed himself to read lips. Results show that two-thirds of the students experienced barriers to participation in both the physical and the social environment. Opening eyes to vision impairment: Inclusion is just another way of 36-46. Special school teachers interviewed described the training offered to them by the Special Education Organization of the Ministry of Education as inadequate, irrelevant, and trivial. Shamsi and Ghasem, two mainstream teachers we interviewed, emphasized that the periodic mandatory professional trainings provided by the Ministry of Education do not include any information on disability inclusive teaching methods.[86]. You can try. There is more information about support from specialist teachers and assessment and provision for your childs needs in Getting the right support SEN and inclusion. [74] Researcher interview with Sahar, a town in northern Iran, May 14, 2017. She interviewed dozens of children with disabilities excluded from education in 2018 and 2019. Does a mobility teacher/habilitation specialist visit the school on a regular basis? It is often harder to change attitudes than to make other adaptations, so a positive 'can do'attitude goes a long way. Those who pass the so-called educability threshold during the medical assessment are categorized in two main groups. In this method, the therapists or teachers even cover their lips so that the child cant read lips and has no choice but to use his hearing.[79] Mohsen Ghafoorian, deputy director of the Special Education Organization, acknowledged in a 2017 interview that teachers are instructed not to use sign language for dictation exercises for deaf children.[80]. Education Week retains sole editorial control over the content of this coverage. In some mainstream schools located in remote or rural areas, children with disabilities are educated in separate classrooms known as annex classrooms. [24] Estes, A., Rivera, V., Bryan, M., Cali, P., & Dawson, G., Discrepancies between academic achievement and intellectual ability in higher-functioning school-aged children with autism spectrum disorder, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2011, 41(8), 1044-1052, DOI: 1007/s10803-010-1127-3; Hoekstra, R. A., Happ, F., BaronCohen, S., & Ronald, A., Limited genetic covariance between autistic traits and intelligence: findings from a longitudinal twin study, American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics, 2010, 153(5), pp. In some cases, mainstream schools refuse to admit some children with disabilities who have passed the mandatory medical assessment. Seeking solutions for improving student reading? RC000500). Res 61//106, entered into force May 3, 2008, ratified by Iran in 2009, art. Some local advocates working with children with intellectual disabilities and children with autism confirmed that many children are left out of education as a result of the medical assessment. High School Placements for Blind and Low Vision Students 13. Does the school provide a generally quiet teaching environment in which it is easy to hear? Parental stigma particularly affects girls with disabilities living in rural or remote areas. According to parents interviewed, the programs broadcast about children with disabilities are infrequent and mostly focused on drawing public empathy or charity, often viewing disability from a moral or religious lens. [13] United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), adopted December 13, 2006, G.A. Each of these supporting schools support a few mainstream schools in their area with registering children with disabilities, including through assigning special education teachers (known as resource teachers) to support children with disabilities a few hours per week and providing educational materials in different formats, for example Braille or audio books.[6]. The second and third special schools for persons with visual disabilities at Entoto and Kasanchis around Addis Ababa. symbolno=CRPD/C/GC/4&Lang=en (accessed January 16, 2017), paras. Farideh explained: Later, after taking Bahar out of school for some time due to the inaccessibility, Farideh and her husband managed to register Bahar in a school with accessible wheelchair ramps for the 2018-2019 school year. Registered in England and Wales (no. Share this via Printer, Download the easy-to-read version of the report, Download the Farsi easy-to-read version of the report. According to government regulations, any newly built or renovated school must meet accessibility requirements including elimination of hazards, adjustment of blackboards to be visible to children sitting in wheelchairs, and making school hallways, entrances and bathrooms accessible including by installing ramps. He said: Most children with autism are kept at home by families and hardly seen in public.[49], Mona, the advocate in eastern Iran quoted previously, also confirmed that parents frequently keep their children with disabilities out of school due to fear and lack of understanding. [76] Researcher interview with Ahmad, a city in southern Iran, May 9, 2017. Ensure reasonable accommodations for children with disabilities based on individual learning requirements. Amanda Beland Producer/DirectorAmanda Beland is a producer and director for Radio Boston. These include a lack of or low quality of education material in alternative formats, little opportunity to choose the preferred format of material, and inadequate support from school staff and teachers. 77303, adopted by Cabinet of Ministers, 1394 (2015) sections 6 and 15, http://rooznamehrasmi.ir/laws/ShowLaw.aspx?Code=5834. Blind Programs | Tucson Campus - Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and [18] Special Education Organization Definitions and Terms ( ) 1391 (2012), http://csdeo.ir/uploads/________.pdf (accessed July 28, 2017) and researcher interview with Jafar, March 31, 2017. Thank you! [12], According to the CRPD, governments should collect information, including disaggregated statistical and research data disaggregated by age, sex, gender, ethnic background, and migrant, asylum seeker and refugee status to enable effective policies to implement the convention. Being Legally Blind in Mainstream School (K-12) - YouTube Childrens ages are at the time of the interview. They did so knowing that we are not able to acknowledge them each individually, due to security considerations. Some children . This is an important contact for educationaladvice and guidance about your child. Zuraidah Don, Ali Salami & Amir Ghajarieh, Voices of Girls with Disabilities in Rural Iran, Disability & Society, 30:6, 805-819, (2015), accessed September 8, 2017, DOI: 10.1080/09687599.2015.1052042. [18] Children with an IQ under 50 are considered ineducable and can attend no school whatsoever. Parents whom we interviewed said they fear the bullying of their child with disability and the bullying of their other children. [83] Researcher interview with Ghasem, teacher in mainstream high schools for boys, Tehran, May 20, 2017. PDF Challenges Encountered By Students with Visual Impairments and Teachers Of these, more than 60 per cent are educated in mainstream schools where their requirements might not be so easy to address. Like many other civil rights laws, IDEA grew from a conviction that separate is not equal. . Collect and make publicly available statistics on the number of children and adults with disabilities in various parts of the education system in Iran. [107] CRPD Committee General Comment No. E/C.12/1999/10 (1999), para. Last year, Shabnams father got sick, and I had to take care of him, too. At the Center for Human Rights in Iran: Hadi Ghaemi, executive director, Omid Memarian, deputy director, and Karen Kramer, director of publications, reviewed the report for the Center for Human Rights in Iran. [92] Researcher interview with Amin, teacher working in special schools for boys, Tehran suburbs, June 8, 2017. Sahar and Nadia, two high school students who are blind, said that the content of standard textbooks is often updated, and had to rely on outdated audio or Braille versions of textbooks. A 2017 Iranian government study found that disability was the most common reason for children to be out of the classroom. Amend legislation to define inclusive education in a way that is consistent with the CRPD and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities General Comment No. Do the edges of steps and stairs have good contrast? [3] The organization was established in 1990 upon adoption of the Islamic Consultative assembly (the parliament) and has an independent budget, human resources, and administrative mechanism. Inaccessibility and lack of reasonable accommodations in schools may mean that parents attend school with their children in order to move them around the school or provide other support.