A child who is only allowed at school 4 hours a week or is referred to an unsuitable class, does that seem unthinkable to you? Yet this is the reality many families of children with disabilities are preparing for as the 2022 school year begins. An untenable reality at a time of repeated government speeches on the principle of inclusive education. To draw attention to these situations, which have unfortunately become commonplace, Unapei (a movement of associations for the defense of the rights of people with mental or psychological disabilities) is launching for the fourth year its #Jaipasecole campaign to encourage parents invite to testify.
“After spending 10 years in a day hospital, my daughter finds herself without structure, without any support, on the fringes of society because of her disability and cruel lack of space.“Testimonials such as those from the parents of Hawa, 16, from Montreuil, are discovered by the hundred on Unapei’s marentree.org platform.
Thanks to the #Jaipasecole device, families find an echo for their problems. A way to share their suffering, and above all to make it known so that the government finally takes up the issue of “education and disability”.
“We can’t wait any longer. Students with disabilities and their parents need answers. Reactions adapted to each situation and powerful actions. Because it is not up to the students to adapt to the school system, but to society to find solutions that meet everyone’s needs. How can we allow situations that harm children’s development and the balance of families to continue without reacting? ? Pupils with disabilities are first and foremost children who, like all children in the Republic, want to build their future. »
Luc Gateau, President of Unapei
The promise of an inclusive school
In February 2020, at the National Conference on Disability, the President of the Republic promised that by September no child would be without an education solution. By the start of the next school year and the years that followed, the problem was far from being solved. However, “the right to education for all children, regardless of their disability, is a fundamental right”, we can read on the website of the Ministry of Education.
The Inclusive School strives to ensure quality education for all students, from kindergarten to secondary school, by taking into account their particularities and special educational needs.
Ministry of Education website
With its platform, Unapei aims to draw attention to: “recurring reality of partial or complete exclusion from the school and education systems of children with disabilities in France”explains the association in a press release. Parents, students, education professionals are invited to testify: “to make as many people as possible aware of the reality of their often chaotic journey, a source of exclusion and loss of opportunity.”
To share your experience and participate in raising awareness of this problem affecting thousands of families, visit marentree.org to testify.