A recent study has revealed surprising numbers from Germany reflecting the state of the integration of kids with special needs into school classrooms.
Overall, only 60% of pre-schoolers with special needs are integrated, 34% of elementary school students and 15% of high school students. This, despite the fact the Germany has adopted an official policy supporting integration and signed an international agreement to that effect, according to an article in thelocal.de.
The reasons given for this situation include "a lack of space" in appropriate classrooms.
The Bertelsmann Foundation, which produced the study, found that in 2009 there were some 480,000 students with special educations needs – about six percent of the country’s student population. Among these were 85,000 preschool age children.
As in Canada, the systems and scales of identifying students with special needs vary between jurisdictions, with German states claiming proportions of students requiring special education ranging from 6-11% of the total student population.
In Riverside School Board, the percentage of students who have an IEP (individualized education plan) is approximately 10% and rising. There is one specialized English language special needs school on the south shore of Montreal, REACH, which currently accommodates approximately 65 students with pervasive intellectual handicaps. It is the only public special needs school in the Montreal area, although the large majority of the students are from the Riverside area.
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