INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

FOR PUPILS WITH

DISABILITIES

Public thematic report

Public policy evaluation

September 2024

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Summary report

Inclusive education is a principle that aims to ensure quality schooling for all pupils, from

nursery school to high school, by taking into account their individual characteristics and special

educational needs. Since the law of 11 February 2005 on equal rights and opportunities,

participation and citizenship for people with disabilities, the enrolment of pupils with disabilities

in mainstream education - i.e. in a school, middle school or high school - has been a principle

of law in France.

The different types of schooling available

Source: Court of Accounts

UEMA: Nursery autism teaching unit

UE: Teaching unit – UEEA: Elementary autism teaching units

Nevertheless, the pathways followed by pupils and their families are not without their

complexities: information on solutions and pathways, smooth transitions between mainstream

and medico-social environments, educational guidance or vocational integration, not to

mention the issue of pupil well-being. Since this law came into force, the number of pupils with

disabilities in schools has tripled: 155,361 pupils at the start of the 2006 school year and

436,085 in 2022.

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Proportion of pupils with disabilities by level (%)

Source: Court of Accounts based on DGESCO data for public and

private education

In quantitative terms, therefore, the success is undeniable. However, the Court has taken

stock of the many difficulties that arise at the level of primary and secondary schools, by

seeking to answer the following four evaluation questions:

Has the school system been transformed to meet the objective of inclusive education for

pupils with disabilities?

Does the national policy on inclusive education make it possible to cover all the needs

of pupils effectively and equitably?

Does the national policy on inclusive education enable pupils with disabilities and other

pupils to succeed at school and achieve social and professional integration?

Can the French inclusive education system be considered efficient and effective?

While the answer to the first question is generally positive, this is not the case for the

second. The third and fourth questions call for a more reserved response. The Court has

reached a conclusion based on the following four strategic areas.

Improving the management, monitoring and evaluation of public policy

Despite the transformations it has brought about in the organisation of the school system,

the policy for the education of pupils with disabilities has weaknesses in its implementation, as

it depends on the coexistence of two sectors that do not coordinate and interact in a

satisfactory manner: the education sector and the medico-social sector. Firstly, despite the

agreements between the regional health agencies and the education authorities, difficulties

remain in ensuring that pupils with disabilities are able to continue their education while taking

account of their medico-social needs. Secondly, the departmental centres for persons with

disabilities recommend placement in medico-social establishments, which are not always

successful due to a lack of places or the choice of families. In such situations, schools and

educational establishments, as a result of the obligation incumbent on the Ministry of Education

to provide schooling, are required to take in pupils with disorders that educational staff feel

incapable of dealing with.

Furthermore, the policy of educating pupils with disabilities suffers from a widespread

lack of data to enable it to be evaluated on a documented basis. For example, there is a lack

of comprehensive data on these pupils and no consolidated funding available to support them.

To date, only the amount falling within the budgetary remit of the Ministry of Education is known

(€3.7 billion in 2022), which includes remuneration of teaching and support staff as well as

educational expenditure. It does not include the funding provided by local authorities on a

compulsory or optional basis, which relates to the adaptation of primary schools, middle

schools, and high schools, school transport for pupils with disabilities, digital equipment and

extracurricular activities, depending on their respective areas of competence. The lack of

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studies analysing how schooling for pupils with disabilities benefits them in terms of success

at school and, more broadly, in education, and the impossibility of identifying the most effective

and efficient pathways or mechanisms, should also be noted. As a result, it is scarcely possible

to comment on the performance of the French model of inclusive education for pupils with

disabilities, and even less so to compare it with those of other countries.

Improving the use of accessibility and accommodation tools

Two tools are used by schools to meet the needs of pupils with disabilities: accessibility

and accommodation.

Accessibility means giving all young people access to expertise. This principle includes

the right of a young person with a disability to enrol in the school closest to his or her home,

the possibility of having physical access to adapted facilities and premises, and the

implementation of measures designed to facilitate learning by means of adapted teaching

methods and teaching aids.

The law makes local authorities responsible for the physical accessibility of school

buildings and sports and cultural facilities, i.e. municipalities for schools, departments for

middle schools and regions for high schools. The departments are also responsible for school

transport for pupils with disabilities. The Court's assessment reveals a frequent lack of planning

which, based on a shared assessment between the national education authorities and local

authorities, would make it possible to identify the outstanding requirements in terms of building

accessibility, as well as the need to fit out school areas with furniture adapted to pupils with

disabilities.

For their part, teachers often feel unable to diversify their teaching activities due to a

number of factors: too many pupils per class, which they feel limits the scope for individualised

teaching, the lack of suitable teaching aids and the fact that it generally takes too long to obtain

the necessary equipment.

Accommodation refers to the right of a person with a disability to benefit from any

individual measure likely to guarantee equal rights and equal opportunities. Applied to inclusive

education, and depending on the nature of the disability, this principle is reflected in the

provision of individualised or shared support and in adjustments to pupil assessment tests and

examinations.

The Court's assessment revealed a massive reliance on human support, as evidenced

by the growing recruitment of support staff for pupils with disabilities. In terms of numbers,

these staff are now the second most important job in national education (78,816 full-time

equivalent staff in 2023), after teachers. There is an urgent need to review the current situation,

which is characterised by a preponderant reliance on support to the detriment of accessibility

measures, which are still insufficiently developed.

Improving the management of human resources dedicated to inclusive

education

Those involved in the inclusive education of pupils with disabilities often feel ill at ease

in their daily work. Teachers and support staff for pupils with disabilities feel that they are not

sufficiently equipped or prepared, either in terms of initial or in-service training, to deal with

situations which, in their view, sometimes go beyond their competences and their means of

action. They would like to benefit from the advice and support of specialists, particularly from

the medico-social and medical sectors, and would like to see more cross-disciplinary training

designed to overcome the barriers between the different professions involved. They also feel

that specialist teachers should be given greater recognition.

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In addition, support staff for pupils with disabilities lack guidelines for clarifying their role

vis-à-vis teachers and, more generally, for enhancing their recognition within the educational

community: in addition to major recruitment problems and dissatisfaction among these staff

with their working conditions, the use of individualised or pooled support is not governed by a

set of guidelines that would guarantee the appropriateness of either approach. Similarly, the

fact that the services of support staff for pupils with disabilities are dispersed between several

schools shows the limits of the localised inclusive support centres that are the subject of

frequent criticism.

Simplifying the pathway for pupils and their families

For pupils with disabilities who require medico-social support to complement their

mainstream schooling, the current system suffers from compartmentalisation, even though the

development of externalised units (medico-social units located in schools) presents a

promising opportunity. It would appear essential to review the objectives and implementation

methods for the schooling of pupils with disabilities, by establishing them within a more

coherent framework between the educational and medico-social sectors, both of which should

be considered as taking part in an inclusive educational approach taken as a whole.

In addition to the lack of coherence between the educational and medico-social sectors,

there are a number of obstacles affecting the progress of pupils with disabilities within the

school system. The families we met during our evaluation were almost unanimous in describing

their children's schooling as an ‘obstacle course’. For example, they are required to make

repeated requests to the departmental centres for the disabled, even though their children's

disability remains unchanged over the years.

In addition, until the

livret de parcours inclusif

(inclusive pathway booklet) becomes

widely available, there is a lack of dialogue and monitoring tools to facilitate the pathway for

pupils with disabilities throughout their school career. The same applies at the end of their

schooling, when they go on to higher education and enter the world of work. At present, many

pupils with disabilities suffer from a lack of continuity, leading to feelings of unease and

uncertainty about their future.

School guidance procedures therefore need to be improved to provide better solutions

for pupils with disabilities. The over-representation of these pupils in vocational high schools

compared to other types of establishments should be investigated. The guidance of pupils with

disabilities seems to be a major issue in terms of improving their subsequent progression into

the world of work. Indeed, even if the trend is downwards over the years, the unemployment

rate of people with disabilities on the labour market is still almost twice that of other workers

(12 % compared with 7 % in 2022), which shows both the limitations of the French training

system in giving all young people the same opportunities in terms of career development, and

the obstacles that remain, particularly for apprenticeships.

Conclusion of the evaluation

The following table presents the response to each of the four evaluation questions. It

summarises the main arguments on which the Court's assessment is based.

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Summary of response to evaluation questions

Evaluation question

Short answer

Has the school system been transformed

to meet the objective of inclusive

education for pupils with disabilities

?

A positive response is warranted overall. The

principle of inclusion has undeniably changed

the organisation of the French school system,

both in terms of institutional management

and the professional practices of staff.

However, these changes vary from one

region to another and, in many cases, are

incomplete or unfinished. Numerous

weaknesses remain, first and foremost the

discrepancy between the multitude of

existing systems and resources and the

perception of stakeholders.

Does the national policy on inclusive

education make it possible to cover all

the needs of pupils with disabilities

effectively and equitably?

The overall response is negative.

While much progress has been made in

defining the needs of pupils with disabilities,

the implementation of the recommendations

made by the departmental centres for

persons with disabilities is, from a

quantitative point of view, inadequate. It is

more difficult to assess the qualitative

aspects (teaching facilities, building layout,

transport or pupil care during lunch breaks).

There are also regional differences in access

to rights.

Does the national policy on inclusive

education enable pupils with disabilities

and other pupils to succeed at school

and achieve social and professional

integration?

The answer requires nuance in the absence

of an adequate measure of educational

success.

Even if the life goals and school career are at

the heart of public policy, there are potential

disruptions at every stage of the journey.

Pupils with disabilities perform less well and

are more likely to take the vocational route,

without it being possible to determine

whether this is in line with their life goals.

The well-being and interpersonal skills of

pupils with disabilities are also difficult to

assess.

Can the French inclusive education

system be considered efficient and

effective?

The response is reserved. The lack of

statistical and financial data makes it

impossible to assess the performance of the

policy The predominant reliance on support

staff has resulted in massive and increasing

expenditure, the efficiency and relevance of

which are open to question. France is in an

intermediate position compared to other

countries, with the coexistence of educational

and medico-social sectors that lack

coherence between them.

Source: Court of Accounts