WORLD Policy Analysis Center

What is the available level of integration in primary education for students 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 educational guarantee means that legislation does not explicitly guarantee students with disabilities access to education at the primary level. This does not mean that legislation denies this guarantee. In some countries in this category, legislation includes provisions which mention educational resources available for students with disabilities, but does not use language strong enough to be considered a guarantee. In three countries (Oman, Mali, and Iraq), education is only narrowly extended on the extent of students’ capacity.

No integration guarantee means that legislation guarantees students with disabilities access to education, and outlines access to specialized education in separate schools or institutions within the public system at the primary level. There is no explicit guarantee to integration in mainstream education environments, but this does not mean that access to integrated mainstream schools is denied.

Integration in mainstream schools means that legislation guarantees students with disabilities access to education and outlines access in primary school to: a) education within mainstream schools, b) education within mainstream classrooms, c) education within the least restrictive environment, or d) legislation includes a strong commitment to integration within mainstream schools and/or inclusive education generally. However, legislation does not broadly provide for guaranteed support as outlined below. This category includes countries which: a) make provision of supports subject to progressive realization, b) require financial contributions or cost-sharing to cover provision of supports, or c) only guarantee narrow forms of support (e.g. materials made available in Braille but no other supports or accommodations).

Integration in mainstream school and guaranteed support means that in addition to outlining access to mainstream primary schools as detailed above, legislation guarantees students with disabilities individualized supports and/or reasonable accommodations to support their education, e.g. assistive devices, curricular adaptations, adjustments in exams, and more.

Guarantee to public education, unclear level of integration means that legislation explicitly guarantees students with disabilities access to education at the primary level, but legislation does not contain any explicit details on access to mainstream education environments.

Countries

Barbados - No educational guarantee

Bhutan - No educational guarantee

Botswana - No educational guarantee

Brunei - No educational guarantee

Canada - No educational guarantee

Cuba - No educational guarantee

Djibouti - No educational guarantee

Eritrea - No educational guarantee

Iraq - No educational guarantee

Mali - No educational guarantee

Oman - No educational guarantee

Pakistan - No educational guarantee

Papua New Guinea - No educational guarantee

Singapore - No educational guarantee

Solomon Islands - No educational guarantee

Suriname - No educational guarantee

Syria - No educational guarantee

Tuvalu - No educational guarantee

Republic of the Congo - No integration guarantee

Gabon - No integration guarantee

Haiti - No integration guarantee

Nepal - No integration guarantee

Qatar - No integration guarantee

Sri Lanka - No integration guarantee

Vanuatu - No integration guarantee

Cote d'Ivoire - Integration in mainstream schools

Dominica - Integration in mainstream schools

Jordan - Integration in mainstream schools

Libya - Integration in mainstream schools

New Zealand - Integration in mainstream schools

Niger - Integration in mainstream schools

St. Kitts and Nevis - Integration in mainstream schools

St. Lucia - Integration in mainstream schools

St. Vincent and the Grenadines - Integration in mainstream schools

Sudan - Integration in mainstream schools

Tunisia - Integration in mainstream schools

Yemen - Integration in mainstream schools

Albania - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Algeria - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Andorra - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Angola - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Antigua and Barbuda - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Argentina - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Armenia - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Australia - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Austria - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Azerbaijan - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Bahamas - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Bangladesh - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Belarus - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Belgium - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Benin - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Bolivia - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Brazil - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Bulgaria - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Burkina Faso - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Cambodia - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Cameroon - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Cabo Verde - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Central African Republic - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Chile - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

China - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Colombia - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Democratic Republic of the Congo - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Costa Rica - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Croatia - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Cyprus - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Czech Republic - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Denmark - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Dominican Republic - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Ecuador - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Egypt - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

El Salvador - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Equatorial Guinea - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Estonia - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Fiji - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Finland - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

France - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

The Gambia - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Georgia - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Germany - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Ghana - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Greece - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Greenland - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Grenada - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Guatemala - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Guinea-Bissau - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Guyana - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Honduras - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Hungary - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Iceland - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

India - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Indonesia - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Iran - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Ireland - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Israel - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Italy - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Jamaica - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Japan - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Kazakhstan - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Kenya - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Kiribati - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Democratic People's Republic of Korea - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Republic of Korea - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Kyrgyzstan - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Laos - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Latvia - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Lebanon - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Lesotho - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Liberia - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Liechtenstein - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Lithuania - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Luxembourg - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

North Macedonia - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Madagascar - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Malawi - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Maldives - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Malta - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Marshall Islands - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Mauritania - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Mexico - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Micronesia, Federated States of - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Moldova - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Monaco - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Mongolia - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Montenegro - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Morocco - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Mozambique - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Myanmar - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Namibia - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Nauru - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

The Netherlands - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Nicaragua - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Nigeria - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Norway - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Palau - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Panama - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Paraguay - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Peru - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

The Philippines - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Poland - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Portugal - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Romania - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Russian Federation - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Rwanda - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

San Marino - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Sao Tome and Principe - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Saudi Arabia - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Senegal - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Serbia - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Seychelles - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Sierra Leone - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Slovakia - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Slovenia - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

South Africa - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

South Sudan - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Spain - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Eswatini - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Sweden - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Switzerland - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Tajikistan - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Tanzania - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Thailand - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Timor-Leste - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Tonga - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Türkiye - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Turkmenistan - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Uganda - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Ukraine - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

United Arab Emirates - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

United Kingdom - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

United States of America - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Uruguay - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Uzbekistan - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Venezuela - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Vietnam - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Zambia - Integration in mainstream schools and guaranteed support

Afghanistan - Guaranteed, unclear level of integration

Bahrain - Guaranteed, unclear level of integration

Belize - Guaranteed, unclear level of integration

Burundi - Guaranteed, unclear level of integration

Chad - Guaranteed, unclear level of integration

Malaysia - Guaranteed, unclear level of integration

Mauritius - Guaranteed, unclear level of integration

Samoa - Guaranteed, unclear level of integration

Somalia - Guaranteed, unclear level of integration

Trinidad and Tobago - Guaranteed, unclear level of integration

Zimbabwe - Guaranteed, unclear level of integration