WORLD Policy Analysis Center

Skip to main content

Does legislation guarantee a right to inclusive education for children with disabilities?

The term ‘disability’ refers to general references to disabilities, “special education needs” or specific mentions of mental, intellectual, sensory, or physical disabilities.

No means that legislation does not explicitly mention a right to inclusive education. This does not mean that legislation denies this guarantee. In some countries in this category, education rights are only narrowly extended to the extent of students’ capacity.

Aspirational or subject to progressive realization means that countries refer to disability-based inclusion as a goal or benchmark that the government is working to or that the provision of inclusive education is subject to available resources.

Students are preferentially educated in inclusive environments or least restrictive environment means that there is a legal preference for students to be educated in an inclusive environment, but there is not an explicit guaranteed right to inclusive education.

Guaranteed right to inclusive education with exceptions means that students are guaranteed the right to an inclusive educational environment, but legislation allows for exceptions, such as only guaranteeing inclusivity “as far as possible” or outlining exceptions based on the severity of a student’s disability.

Guaranteed right to inclusive education without exceptions means that students are guaranteed the right to an inclusive educational environment without any explicit exceptions.

Countries

Afghanistan - No

Central African Republic - No

Chad - No

China - No

Democratic Republic of the Congo - No

Republic of the Congo - No

Costa Rica - No

Cote d'Ivoire - No

Cuba - No

Egypt - No

Gabon - No

Guinea-Bissau - No

Haiti - No

Iran - No

Iraq - No

Kenya - No

Democratic People's Republic of Korea - No

Republic of Korea - No

Kyrgyzstan - No

Libya - No

Liechtenstein - No

Luxembourg - No

Mali - No

Malta - No

Nepal - No

The Netherlands - No

New Zealand - No

Niger - No

Oman - No

Papua New Guinea - No

Qatar - No

Russian Federation - No

Samoa - No

Sierra Leone - No

Solomon Islands - No

St. Kitts and Nevis - No

St. Vincent and the Grenadines - No

Sudan - No

Syria - No

Tajikistan - No

Trinidad and Tobago - No

Uzbekistan - No

Yemen - No

Armenia - Aspirational or subject to progressive realization

Azerbaijan - Aspirational or subject to progressive realization

Bangladesh - Aspirational or subject to progressive realization

Belarus - Aspirational or subject to progressive realization

Bolivia - Aspirational or subject to progressive realization

Brazil - Aspirational or subject to progressive realization

Burkina Faso - Aspirational or subject to progressive realization

Cameroon - Aspirational or subject to progressive realization

Cabo Verde - Aspirational or subject to progressive realization

Chile - Aspirational or subject to progressive realization

Colombia - Aspirational or subject to progressive realization

Estonia - Aspirational or subject to progressive realization

France - Aspirational or subject to progressive realization

Georgia - Aspirational or subject to progressive realization

Ghana - Aspirational or subject to progressive realization

Honduras - Aspirational or subject to progressive realization

India - Aspirational or subject to progressive realization

Laos - Aspirational or subject to progressive realization

Maldives - Aspirational or subject to progressive realization

Mauritania - Aspirational or subject to progressive realization

Mexico - Aspirational or subject to progressive realization

Moldova - Aspirational or subject to progressive realization

Morocco - Aspirational or subject to progressive realization

Mozambique - Aspirational or subject to progressive realization

Myanmar - Aspirational or subject to progressive realization

The Philippines - Aspirational or subject to progressive realization

South Sudan - Aspirational or subject to progressive realization

Thailand - Aspirational or subject to progressive realization

Timor-Leste - Aspirational or subject to progressive realization

Tonga - Aspirational or subject to progressive realization

Uganda - Aspirational or subject to progressive realization

Ukraine - Aspirational or subject to progressive realization

United Arab Emirates - Aspirational or subject to progressive realization

United Kingdom - Aspirational or subject to progressive realization

Antigua and Barbuda - Students are preferentially educated in inclusive environments or least restrictive environment

Argentina - Students are preferentially educated in inclusive environments or least restrictive environment

Australia - Students are preferentially educated in inclusive environments or least restrictive environment

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Students are preferentially educated in inclusive environments or least restrictive environment

Czech Republic - Students are preferentially educated in inclusive environments or least restrictive environment

Equatorial Guinea - Students are preferentially educated in inclusive environments or least restrictive environment

Greece - Students are preferentially educated in inclusive environments or least restrictive environment

Greenland - Students are preferentially educated in inclusive environments or least restrictive environment

Grenada - Students are preferentially educated in inclusive environments or least restrictive environment

Jamaica - Students are preferentially educated in inclusive environments or least restrictive environment

Micronesia, Federated States of - Students are preferentially educated in inclusive environments or least restrictive environment

Montenegro - Students are preferentially educated in inclusive environments or least restrictive environment

Norway - Students are preferentially educated in inclusive environments or least restrictive environment

Portugal - Students are preferentially educated in inclusive environments or least restrictive environment

Sao Tome and Principe - Students are preferentially educated in inclusive environments or least restrictive environment

Seychelles - Students are preferentially educated in inclusive environments or least restrictive environment

Spain - Students are preferentially educated in inclusive environments or least restrictive environment

Switzerland - Students are preferentially educated in inclusive environments or least restrictive environment

United States of America - Students are preferentially educated in inclusive environments or least restrictive environment

Venezuela - Students are preferentially educated in inclusive environments or least restrictive environment

Andorra - Guaranteed right to inclusive education with exceptions

Bulgaria - Guaranteed right to inclusive education with exceptions

Cambodia - Guaranteed right to inclusive education with exceptions

Denmark - Guaranteed right to inclusive education with exceptions

Dominican Republic - Guaranteed right to inclusive education with exceptions

Ecuador - Guaranteed right to inclusive education with exceptions

The Gambia - Guaranteed right to inclusive education with exceptions

Ireland - Guaranteed right to inclusive education with exceptions

Japan - Guaranteed right to inclusive education with exceptions

Kazakhstan - Guaranteed right to inclusive education with exceptions

Madagascar - Guaranteed right to inclusive education with exceptions

Namibia - Guaranteed right to inclusive education with exceptions

Nauru - Guaranteed right to inclusive education with exceptions

Nicaragua - Guaranteed right to inclusive education with exceptions

Palau - Guaranteed right to inclusive education with exceptions

Panama - Guaranteed right to inclusive education with exceptions

Paraguay - Guaranteed right to inclusive education with exceptions

Peru - Guaranteed right to inclusive education with exceptions

Saudi Arabia - Guaranteed right to inclusive education with exceptions

Senegal - Guaranteed right to inclusive education with exceptions

Serbia - Guaranteed right to inclusive education with exceptions

South Africa - Guaranteed right to inclusive education with exceptions

Tanzania - Guaranteed right to inclusive education with exceptions

Türkiye - Guaranteed right to inclusive education with exceptions

Turkmenistan - Guaranteed right to inclusive education with exceptions

Vietnam - Guaranteed right to inclusive education with exceptions

Zambia - Guaranteed right to inclusive education with exceptions

Angola - Guaranteed right to inclusive education without exceptions

Benin - Guaranteed right to inclusive education without exceptions

Cyprus - Guaranteed right to inclusive education without exceptions

El Salvador - Guaranteed right to inclusive education without exceptions

Fiji - Guaranteed right to inclusive education without exceptions

Iceland - Guaranteed right to inclusive education without exceptions

Indonesia - Guaranteed right to inclusive education without exceptions

Italy - Guaranteed right to inclusive education without exceptions

Lesotho - Guaranteed right to inclusive education without exceptions

North Macedonia - Guaranteed right to inclusive education without exceptions

Malawi - Guaranteed right to inclusive education without exceptions

Marshall Islands - Guaranteed right to inclusive education without exceptions

Mongolia - Guaranteed right to inclusive education without exceptions

Nigeria - Guaranteed right to inclusive education without exceptions

San Marino - Guaranteed right to inclusive education without exceptions

Uruguay - Guaranteed right to inclusive education without exceptions