Inclusion and education

CHAPTER
2
Laws and policies

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KEY MESSAGES
International conventions have been widely adopted but are not always integrated in national laws to ensure 
that all learners’ rights, both to education and within education, are fulfilled.
„
The United Nations conventions on the Rights of the Child and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities have 
been adopted in the region and influenced laws and policies promoting a rights-based approach to inclusive 
education, for instance in Estonia and Ukraine. Azerbaijan is moving from a needs-based, medical model to 
rights-based language, highlighting learners’ education needs and personal development.
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Despite the strong message of General Comment No. 4 on Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of 
Persons with Disabilities – that inclusive education is not compatible with sustaining both mainstream and 
special systems – separate provision, based not only on disability but also on ethnicity and language, persists 
throughout the region. The learners with the most complex disabilities are educated in institutions, in special 
schools or at home.
Countries are beginning to develop laws and policies for inclusive education that extend beyond special 
education needs and disability to cover multiple marginalized groups.
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Of the 30 education systems reviewed in the region:
• 
27 have a definition of special education needs in laws or other documents; of those, 19 link the definition 
primarily with disability and 12 include a variety of other potentially disadvantaged learners, although these 
tend to be mainly gifted learners.
• 
23 have a definition of inclusion in documents; of those, 20 focus on marginalized groups beyond learners 
with special education needs or disabilities.
• 
27 guarantee the education rights of ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities.
• 
27 have some form of gender equality law in place.
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Anti-discrimination laws and plans to counter bullying against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex 
students are lacking. Just 7 of 23 countries have policies or action plans explicitly addressing and prohibiting 
school bullying based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and/or variations in sex 
characteristics.
A more strategic approach is needed to achieve more coherent and sustainable inclusive education policy 
development that moves from compensatory towards preventive measures.
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Policy must be supported by a strategy or plan that clearly sets out intentions and the actions and resources 
required to achieve them. Strategies or action plans for inclusive education exist in 21 of the 30 education 
systems reviewed in the region.
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Examples include the 2019–23 Kyrgyz concepts and programmes for development of inclusive education and 
the Republic of Moldova’s 2011–20 inclusive education development programme. In Tajikistan, the inclusive 
education strategy adopts a broad understanding addressing disability, ethnicity, migration and gender.
Laws and policies often remain disconnected from school and classroom practice realities.
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Actions to follow up on laws, policies and plans depend on national context, political will to include 
disadvantaged groups, action to overcome resistance to new forms of education provision, development 
of positive attitudes, and capacity in terms of resourcing, coordination and workforce development. Wide 
stakeholder involvement is key to ensuring ownership and shared understanding of inclusive education 
principles.
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Planning is often weak and fails to put learners at the centre. In Turkey, despite a full legislative framework for 
inclusion, implementation is challenged by negative attitudes, deficient physical infrastructure and teachers’ 
lack of knowledge and skills.
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GLOBAL EDUCATION MONITORING REPORT 2021

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International instruments and declarations help shift inclusion towards
a rights-based approach....................................................................................................................... 31
A variety of instruments and declarations have shaped the debate ..................... 31
European Union policies have influenced many countries in the region .............33
Realization of the right to inclusive education in the region varies by country ...33
The region is broadening its definition of inclusion in education ...................................35
The record on adopting international instruments in national legislation
is mixed .................................................................................................................................................................40
Plans and strategies for inclusion need to bridge legislation and policy ....................41
Does all mean all? ............................................................................................................................. 43
Inclusive policies need to balance compensation with intervention and 
prevention measures ......................................................................................................................44
The gap between policy and practice needs to be addressed through 
stakeholder involvement .............................................................................................................. 45
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 45
Laws and policies set the framework for achieving 
inclusion in education. At the international level, binding 
legal instruments and non-binding declarations, led 
especially by the United Nations (UN) but also by 
regional organizations, have expressed the international 
community’s aspirations. They have strongly influenced 
the national legislative and policy actions on which 
progress towards inclusion hinges.
Despite the good intentions enshrined in many laws 
and policies on inclusive education, governments 
often do not take the follow-up actions necessary to 
ensure implementation. Barriers remain high for access, 
progression and learning, and they disproportionately 
affect more disadvantaged populations. Inside education 
systems, these populations face discrimination, rejection 
and reluctance to have their needs accommodated. 
Exclusion is most often seen in the segregation of learners 
with different needs into separate classrooms and schools.
This chapter discusses how international instruments and 
declarations have been adopted in the region and how 
national definitions, legislation and policy frameworks on 
inclusive education vary among countries. The analysis 
is based largely on the results of a systematic mapping 
that captures how every country in the region approaches 
inclusion in education through its laws and policies.