Archivo

#AlColeJuntos2030

Gypsy Secretariat Foundation, CERMI, Save the Children.

Introduction

• Inclusive education is an integral part of the right to education for children.
• Segregation, whether legal or direct, de facto or indirect, is a violation of the right to education and a form of discrimination.
• School segregation diminishes the educational success and social inclusion of students with disabilities, Roma, migrant, and low socioeconomic status.
• School segregation reduces the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of education systems and is linked to grade repetition and school dropout.
• Inclusive education improves the academic and social learning of all students, whether or not they belong to vulnerable groups.
• Inclusive education helps to accept difference and generates social cohesion.
• Diverse schools prepare individuals to work and live in teams, companies, and societies that are more creative, innovative, and productive.
• Ensuring inclusion and eliminating school segregation requires political measures and investment from public administrations, which have the obligation to guarantee the right to education.
• The human rights treaty bodies of the United Nations, the institutions of the European Union, the Council of Europe, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recommend policies against school segregation and have called on Spain to act on this issue. The time has come for Spain to fulfill its obligations and implement the commitments of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals, specifically goals 4 and 10 dedicated to quality education and the reduction of inequalities, respectively.

COVID-19 exacerbates the consequences of school segregation

Segregated schools were least prepared to close their doors and switch to distance learning on an improvised basis: while 60% of socially advantaged schools used a digital platform, only 40% of disadvantaged ones did; while around 70% of teachers in high socioeconomic status schools had sufficient skills to use devices in teaching, the figure drops to less than 50% for those in low-status schools. 1 It is much more difficult when the majority of your students lack devices, connection, or digital competence, or require adaptation, support, and accompaniment. Many support programs or reinforcement programs have been eliminated during the lockdown or cannot be carried out remotely. Online platforms are often not accessible.

Schools with high concentrations of disadvantaged students will suffer the most from the educational gap left by COVID-19. With the return to classrooms, school segregation will make it much harder to address the increased needs generated, and children will not benefit from the positive stimulus of having peers with different realities.

1. OECD (2020). Learning remotely when schools close: How well are students and schools prepared? Insights from PISA. Paris: OECD.

TARGET 4.5

By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations.

Goal 4.A

Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all.

Goal 4:

Ensure inclusive, equitable and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning opportunities.

Goal 10:

Reduce inequalities between and within countries.

Meta 10.2

By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all people, regardless of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic status or other condition.

Meta 10.3

Ensure equality of opportunity and reduce inequality of outcomes, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies and measures in that regard.

1. What is inclusive education?

UNESCO understands inclusive education based on the following definition: “Inclusion is seen as a process of identifying and responding to the diversity of needs of all students through greater participation in learning, cultures and communities, and reducing exclusion in education. It involves changes and modifications in content, approaches, structures and strategies, with a common vision that includes all children of the appropriate age range and the conviction that it is the responsibility of the regular system to educate all children.” 2

Inclusive education involves a flexible system that starts from the idea that all girls and boys are diverse, that they can all learn, that there are different abilities, ethnic groups, heights, ages, origins, genders, and that the system must change to adapt to each girl or boy. Inclusion places special emphasis on those groups of students who may be at risk of marginalization, exclusion, or school dropout.

School is the first place of coexistence for a person outside the family environment, and from this perspective, it is essential that all students can receive education in the same spaces as the rest of the members of the human family, to share spaces and experiences… so that affections are built and we can learn from everyone.

The inclusive approach values students as individuals, respects their inherent dignity, and recognizes their needs and their capacity to contribute to society. It also considers that difference provides an opportunity to learn and recognizes that the relationship between the school and the community in general is a basis for creating inclusive societies with a sense of belonging (not only for students, but also for teachers and families).

But above all, inclusive education must ensure three elements for everyone:

• Presence. Everyone learns together.
• Participation. Quality of school experiences, belonging, voice, and well-being.
• Achievement: Curricular learning outcomes.

Integration is not inclusion

In the integration model, the mainstream system does not change; it is the child who must adapt to it, and if they cannot adapt, they will fail. Furthermore, in the case of disability, they can only attend a mainstream school once specialists determine they are fit to go to a mainstream school; otherwise, they will go to special education.

Inclusion involves a process of systemic reform that entails changes and modifications in the content, teaching methods, approaches, structures, and strategies of education to overcome barriers with the vision of ensuring that all students within the relevant age groups have an equitable and participatory learning experience. Integration does not automatically guarantee the transition from segregation to inclusion. 3

In this context, the concept of normalization is often invoked, which does not mean making a person with specific educational needs “normal or standard,” but rather accepting them as they are, including their needs, recognizing them with the same rights as others, and offering them the relevant services so that they can develop their potential to the fullest and live as fulfilling a life as possible.

School segregation is the separation of students in different educational settings based on some personal or social characteristic. In other words, it is the unequal distribution of students among educational centers or among groups within the same center, in such a way that they do not reflect the social composition of the territory where they are located, and students with similar characteristics are concentrated in the same classrooms or schools.

2. What is school segregation?

Types of school segregation

Depending on the groups that suffer this form of educational exclusion, we can distinguish school segregation by:

• Socioeconomic and cultural level. 
• Ethnic belonging.
• National origin.
• Disability.
• Gender.
• Academic performance.

Based on its legal recognition:

• Legal segregation: explicitly included in education laws and by which, in this case, students with disabilities, mainly intellectual and developmental, based on a ruling, are separated from the common education track and referred to special education. It thus constitutes a form of direct discrimination.
• De facto segregation: this is a common practice, through apparently neutral rules or mechanisms, which ends up directing and grouping children in certain schools, tracks, or classes, based on their national origin, ethnicity, mainly Roma population, low socioeconomic status, or disability.

Depending on the level of the education system at which it occurs, we can distinguish:

• Between educational centers: separating and concentrating in different schools, either legally, as is the case with special education centers, or de facto, in many “ghetto schools”.
• Within educational centers —also called “stratification” to differentiate it from the previous one—: when it occurs through itineraries more or less disconnected from the ordinary group or in the separation into homogeneous groups within a level.

Factors that generate it

Fundamentally, school segregation is the result of the interaction of three sets of factors: educational laws, policies, and practices; how the population is distributed geographically; and the preferences with which families choose schools.

• Educational laws, policies, and practices
• Family preferences for school choice
• Residential segregation

It is not just a residential problem, nor just about subsidized private schools

It is a recurring argument to place the responsibility for school segregation exclusively on the distribution of the population in the territory.

However, there is evidence to the contrary, that school segregation is generally higher than residential segregation. In Madrid, urban segregation explains at most 50% of school segregation. In Barcelona, schools have been found that quadruple the average of low-income students in the neighborhood and have five or ten times more than other schools in the same area.

The concentration of students with disabilities in public schools in some autonomous communities does not respond to a residential reason. Policies matter. As examples from other countries show, although territorial distribution is a factor, this does not prevent educational policies from acting nor can it be an excuse that exempts administrations from their responsibility to guarantee the right to equitable and inclusive education.

School segregation does not only occur between public and state-subsidized schools. Moreover, in some autonomous communities, the differences in social composition between schools are greater within each network than between the two networks. 6

School segregation is very significant among public schools: for example, in Barcelona, within the same neighborhood, there are public schools with three times more disadvantaged students than other public schools. 7

A right cannot have exceptions

Furthermore, Spain continues to consider inclusive education a principle rather than a right, including exceptions in its education laws that prevent persons with disabilities from being educated in the regular education system, leaving them outside the general system, making them invisible, and identifying them from their early years as ‘people who cannot achieve like others’.

Not segregating is compatible with choosing a school

Another frequent argument is that segregation is an inevitable consequence of families exercising their freedom to choose a school. However, the OECD recurrently reminds us that choice and equity are not incompatible, avoiding segregation. To achieve this, it recommends ‘controlled choice systems’ that, while allowing choice among different school options, empower the most vulnerable families in the choice process and introduce corrective mechanisms to ensure balanced student distribution. 8

When there are publicly funded schools that are inaccessible to certain students, due to cost or admission discrimination, many families cannot choose. When there are “ghettoization” processes, many families are not choosing between educational projects but fleeing. When the appropriate adjustments and supports for each child’s needs are not offered or when there is a schooling report that obliges them, families cannot choose. In Spain, there are cases of families who have had to litigate against the State because administrations have denied their daughters and sons the right to study in the general education system. 9

What is the situation of school segregation in Spain?

If we analyze the situation of students with disabilities, currently we have 17% of students with disabilities in special education, a figure that has remained almost unchanged since the 1980s. We see that their referral to special education centers has increased coinciding with the crisis period. Likewise, apart from students with disabilities, significant curricular adaptations are applied that do not allow them to graduate.

School segregation by socioeconomic origin had been on an upward trend, reaching comparatively high levels, which began to reverse between 2015 and 2018, partly due to the significant improvement in Catalonia. However, in Euskadi, Andalusia, and Madrid, among other regions, it continues to grow. The latter is the second territory with the highest segregation in the OECD after Chile. 10 30% of disadvantaged students in Spain would need to be in different schools to eliminate segregation. 1 out of every 10 educational centers can be classified as a “ghetto” with more than 50% disadvantaged students, and nine out of ten of these centers are public. 11 While in public centers one-third are disadvantaged students, in privately owned centers, only 8% are. 12

Regarding the segregation affecting Roma students, we currently have limited data, although the reality is that there are centers with a high concentration of Roma students in all cities. The Ministry of Education and Vocational Training is conducting a study to analyze the dynamics that lead to segregation by centers of Roma students.

In Spain, at the regional level, the Ministry of Education of Castilla y León identified, for the implementation of the 2030 Program, at least 100 centers with a concentration of 80% Roma students. At the European level, the only official data we have are from the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), which in a 2016 survey indicated that 31% of Roma students in Spain studied in centers with high concentration.

For their part, students of migrant origin also experience high levels of segregation, in other countries and also in Spain. 39% would have to be in another educational center for there to be no segregation.

Likewise, while immigrant students with late enrollment (with a gap or difficulty with the language of instruction) in non-university education in private-concerted centers is 0.2%, it is double (0.4%) in public centers. 13

Furthermore, the different forms of school segregation overlap, thus aggravating the problem. Educational centers with a high concentration of socioeconomically disadvantaged students also accommodate a higher proportion of students with disabilities (10%) and of migrant origin with difficulties in the language of schooling (33%).14

4. Are the right to education and the right to non-discrimination violated in Spain? Various international bodies have spoken out…

Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilitiesof the UN 2019, concluding observations to Spain. “The Committee is concerned that the State party has made hardly any progress on inclusive education, and in particular that there is no clear policy and action plan to promote this type of education. It is particularly concerned that all regulatory provisions on special education persist and a medical approach to disability continues to be applied. The Committee is also concerned that a large number of children with disabilities, particularly those with autism, intellectual or psychosocial disabilities and multiple disabilities, continue to receive segregated special education.”

Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rightsof the UN 2018, concluding observations to Spain. “The Committee urges the State party to: […] Intensify its efforts to combat school segregation, including that arising from residential segregation which disproportionately affects Roma and Traveller children and adolescents, as well as migrants.”

UN Committee on the Rights of the Child 2018, concluding observations to Spain. “The Committee is concerned about: […] The worst educational outcomes for children of Roma and migrant origin, compared to the outcomes of the general student population, as well as the concentration of these children in certain schools.”

Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, report of the inquiry relating to Spain under article 6 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2018. “The Committee recommends legislative reform in accordance with the Convention that involves, among other things: […]

• Consider inclusive education as a right and not just a principle, and that all students with disabilities have the right to access inclusive learning opportunities in the general education system, regardless of their personal characteristics, with access to the support services required.
• Eliminate the exception of segregated education in educational legislation, including psycho-pedagogical evaluation and schooling reports.
• Include a non-rejection clause for students due to disability, clearly establishing that the denial of reasonable accommodation constitutes discrimination.
• Eliminate the educational segregation of students with disabilities, whether in a unit within the same school or in special schools.

European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, ECRI 2017, report on Spain. “ECRI strongly recommends that the Spanish authorities review the admission method for students in public and private subsidized schools and take other measures that may be necessary to ensure an equitable distribution of Spanish, immigrant and Roma students across different schools.”

Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights2017, position paper. “A substantial number of children across Europe are educated in schools with a high concentration of disadvantaged pupils due to their socio-economic, ethnic or cultural background or disability. Their separation or concentration in specific schools and classes harms their learning opportunities and is clearly a violation of their right to education and their right not to be discriminated against. […] Therefore, the Commissioner for Human Rights calls on the Council of Europe member states to address this persistent phenomenon in their education systems, making progress towards truly inclusive education.”

European Commission2013, recommendation “Invest in Children: Breaking the Cycle of Disadvantage”. “Recommends Member States: […] promote anti-segregation policies that reinforce full schooling.”

Council of the EU, 2011, recommendation on policies to reduce early school leaving.“Promoting active anti-segregation policies and providing more support to schools in disadvantaged areas or with a large number of students from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds helps these schools improve their social composition and educational provision. This improves the educational attainment of students from disadvantaged backgrounds and reduces the risk of early school leaving.”

UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, 2011, Concluding observations on Spain. “The Committee is concerned by information according to which “ghetto” schools for migrant and Roma children exist in some regions of the State party. […] The Committee recommends that the State party review the criteria and methods of the admission process to public and private schools and take measures to ensure an effective balanced distribution of students in educational centers.”

European Commission, 2011, Communication “Addressing early school leaving”: a key contribution to the Europe 2020 agenda. “Other preventive measures address issues such as […] an active policy against segregation that improves social, ethnic, and cultural mixing in schools, allows for better peer learning, and contributes to integration.”

European Court of Human Rights, 2007, Case D.H. and Others v. the Czech Republic FRA, ECtHR and Council of Europe, 2018, Handbook on European Non-Discrimination Law.According to the European Court of Human Rights, school segregation is a violation of the right to education (Art. 2 European Convention on Human Rights) and the right not to be discriminated against (Art. 14).

European jurisprudence establishes that school segregation, when statistics show a disproportionate presence in certain schools, is an example of indirect discrimination, where a seemingly neutral rule, criterion, or practice is unfavorable and discriminates against a specific group of people compared to the rest.

5. What are the harms of segregation and the benefits of inclusion?

The social and individual development of a person is better promoted in socially heterogeneous environments that reflect the diversity present in society, especially for those starting from more vulnerable conditions. Research has shown the negative effects of segregation on the learning, well-being, and academic trajectory of disadvantaged students.

It is proven that we learn from difference. To think that school is homogeneous. But that logic of homogeneity is contrary to the process of learning. We learn from what is different.

We will have to ask ourselves, for example, if a person uses a wheelchair and now has the right to be in school, are they condemned to fail Physical Education because they cannot run? We will have to rethink that. And what if we now apply that same example to learning mathematics or language? To make that right, which everyone has, effective, we need something or a good part of what happens inside to be transformed so that that person can see their right to be there, but also to learn, participate, and progress there, and for all of that to be recognized.

How is a person prepared for inclusion if not through inclusion?

All students, but especially the most disadvantaged, are harmed by the absence of diversity in their schools, by being deprived of opportunities to learn, play, and communicate, in short, to live together with children of different social, ethnic, or cultural backgrounds or with disabilities. Countries with more segregated schools are less equitable, according to the PISA report. 15.

International research shows that grouping students in vulnerable situations in the same schools harms their learning, while their presence has little effect on other students, except at very high levels. 16. In Spain, the concentration of immigrant students increases their probability of repeating a grade; however, it hardly affects native students.17. Something similar happens when concentrating students in disadvantaged situations in the same classrooms, increasing the probability of repeating and reducing expectations of pursuing higher education. 18. Segregation is linked to the risk of early school leaving. 19. These asymmetric effects mean that a balanced distribution of students among schools, in addition to being more equitable, improves overall results and is more efficient. 20.

Furthermore, excessive school segregation is associated with social coexistence problems and risks of violence. 21 Not interacting with difference makes us more closed off to it. Young people with disabilities who attend segregated centers are less likely to form friendships and social networks in their adult lives. 22

As has been pointed out, studying in inclusive environments improves learning for everyone. Reviews by Harvard professors and the European Agency for Special Needs Education of studies comparing students with disabilities in mainstream and special education in different countries show that the former achieve better learning levels and are more likely to progress and reach post-compulsory education. 23

This is also the case for students with intellectual disabilities, who showed greater reading comprehension. Furthermore, recent research shows that the presence in class of students with special educational needs not only does not harm, but has a positive impact on the academic performance of students without disabilities, mainly due to the change it generates in teaching practices. 24

But it also has an impact on socio-emotional competencies and well-being. Inclusive education increases opportunities for peer interaction and the creation of good friendships between students with and without disabilities. 25 Numerous studies show that learning in more inclusive environments favors the social skills of children with disabilities. 26

Diversity in schools is fundamental for social cohesion, as it prepares us to live with it. Research indicates that children develop more positive attitudes towards other ethnic groups by sharing a classroom with them; they are less xenophobic. 27 The same happens when they have classmates of a lower socioeconomic level, which leads to attitudes of generosity, concern for equality, and fewer discriminatory attitudes. 28

All of this impacts the economy. We know from extensive accumulated research that improving the educational levels of the population leads to savings in social protection and makes us more productive and competitive (hence, increasing them and reducing school dropout are priority objectives for the EU). But furthermore, on the one hand, attending an inclusive education center is one of the factors that increase the probability of people with disabilities finding employment and having a greater chance of achieving economic independence. 29 And, on the other hand, in today’s economy, the ability to be creative, collaborative, and to work in diverse teams are fundamental skills for employability. There are studies that prove that the most diverse teams, organizations, companies, and even cities are more innovative and productive due to their greater capacity to solve problems, bringing different points of view from different experiences. 30.

School segregation is detrimental in the educational, economic, and social spheres.

Educational:

• Lower academic performance.
• More grade repetition.
• Less qualification.
• Higher early school leaving.
• More inequity.
• Violation of the right to education.

Economic:

• Inefficient educational spending.
• Less creativity and innovation.
• Unemployment and job insecurity.

Social:

• More discriminatory attitudes.
• More risk of violence.
• More inequalities.

The benefits of inclusive education are individual and collective

Educational:

• Improves academic results.
• More peer interaction and better social competence.
• Higher probability of access to higher education.
• Reduces school bullying.
• Less early school leaving.
• More equity.
• Fulfillment of the right to education.
• More skills, critical thinking, leadership, and teamwork.

Economic:

• More efficient educational spending.
• More innovation and productivity.
• More employability.
• Lower spending on social protection programs.
• Less spending on parallel education systems.

Social:

• Less discrimination.
• More respect for diversity and coexistence.
• More people successfully achieve an independent life.
• More social networks in adult life.
• More social cohesion.

6. What steps do administrations need to take now? What measures are necessary?

For UNESCO, inclusive education is a process, meaning inclusion must be seen as an endless quest for better ways to respond to diversity. It involves learning to live with diversity and learning from it. Inclusion means identifying and removing barriers to the presence, participation, and academic success of all students. 31

In this regard, based on the recommendations of the United Nations Human Rights Treaty Bodies, the Council of Europe, the OECD, the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, and the evidence of successful policies, a series of three-step measures are proposed to make the RIGHT TO EDUCATION and the RIGHT TO NON-DISCRIMINATION effective for all by 2030:

• Reform of the LOE-LOMCEwhich recognizes the right to inclusive education and includes concrete measures for admission, monitoring, and resources against school segregation.
• State Plan for Educational Inclusion and Against Segregationwith a calendar, objectives, indicators, and budget agreed upon with the autonomous communities to eliminate segregation.
• New Law on Equal Treatment and Against Discriminationthat recognizes, prohibits, and sanctions school segregation as a form of discrimination.

Reform of the LOE-LOMCE

1. Consider inclusive education as a right and not just a principle, clearly defining inclusion and its specific objectives at each level of education.
2. Establish the prevention and reduction of segregation as an objective of educational policy, including admission, and the responsibility of administrations to intervene to reverse cases of high concentration.
3. Establish the balanced schooling of students in disadvantaged socioeconomic situations in admission.
4. Set minimum and maximum numbers of students with special educational needs and in disadvantaged socioeconomic situations per school.
5. Reduce ratios and avoid increases due to live enrollment in schools with high segregation.
6. Establish the freedom of choice of schooling modality, if several exist, which corresponds to families, with active listening to the desires and preferences of the students concerned.
7. Generalize schooling commissions and schooling offices that manage enrollment, support families, promote cooperation, and advocate for inclusion.
8. Collect and track data on the social composition of educational centers.
9. Provide extra resources to centers or areas with segregation without reinforcing stigmatization.
10. Review and adapt the resources of publicly funded centers to the needs of the students they enroll and ensure they are sufficient.
11. Establish co-responsibility in inclusive schooling in subsidized schools.
12. Regulate and control complementary activities and economic contributions to prevent discrimination and the collection of illegal mandatory fees.
13. Stiffen sanctions in cases of discrimination in admission and violations of free education in subsidized schools.
14. Include in the functions of inspection, ensure balanced schooling, free education, and non-discrimination in admission.
15. Establish a transition process to a model of inclusive education for all students without exceptions, valuing special education centers as resource and support centers for the education system.
16. Include a non-rejection clause for students for any reason, clearly stating that the denial of reasonable accommodation constitutes discrimination and respecting the family’s choice.
17. Develop systems for evaluating and monitoring individualized progress with reasonable adjustments.
18. Ensure children’s right to be heard and have their opinions taken into account regarding schooling.
19. Guarantee that the educational support and compensation measures adopted are developed from an inclusive and non-segregating perspective.

State Plan for Educational Inclusion and Against Segregation (Ministry of Education and Vocational Training and Autonomous Communities)

1. With the aim of eliminating segregation due to disability, socioeconomic level, ethnic origin, and national origin from the education system by 2030.
2. Define a process for eliminating segregation and implementing an inclusive education system with an initial starting point, calendar, objectives, and measurable indicators.
3. Agree with the autonomous communities on actions, regulatory and budgetary measures to eliminate current obstacles. The plan will include commitments of human and financial resources.
4. Give presence and active participation in the Plan to social movements and organizations working for inclusive education.
5. Incorporate into the initial and ongoing training of teachers the capacity to work in inclusive educational environments.
6. Include measures to raise awareness and combat discrimination, stereotypes, prejudice, and harmful practices, including school bullying.
7. Improve the collection of information and data, including the development of indicators within the State Education Indicators System disaggregated by disadvantaged groups (socioeconomic level, ethnic and national origin, ACNEAE, and disability) in line with Sustainable Development Goal 4.
8. Establish an Observatory for Educational Equity and Inclusion, with the participation of educational and social inclusion organizations, as a monitoring and review mechanism to ensure the effectiveness of measures.
9. This plan must be linked to a Strategy for School Success and the Fight against Early School Leaving, in accordance with the European ET2020 objectives and those that succeed them.

New Law on Equal Treatment and the Fight against Discrimination(Ministry of Equality and the Cortes Generales – Parliamentary groups)

1. Explicitly recognize school segregation as a prohibited form of discrimination in education, understood as the concentration of students with disabilities, with specific educational support needs, socioeconomically disadvantaged, or of migrant or ethnic minority origin in the same educational center, whether through direct or indirect mechanisms.
2. No discrimination in the criteria and practices regarding school admission and permanence, regardless of the ownership of the centers.
3. Establish the denial of reasonable accommodation to students with disabilities as discrimination, applying a non-rejection clause in educational centers.
4. Promote speed and accessibility in complaint and legal recourse processes in cases of discrimination in schooling, both through administrative and judicial channels.
5. Inclusion in teacher training, both initial and ongoing, of content on educational attention to diversity and equal treatment and non-discrimination.
6. Inclusion in the curriculum of the right to equal treatment and non-discrimination.
7. Ensure that parents of students with disabilities cannot be prosecuted for the crime of family abandonment for demanding their children’s right to inclusive education.
8. Establish a system of sanctions for those who violate these rights. Schools that exclude admission as a form of discrimination will be excluded from public funding.

Alliance for inclusive education and against school segregation

The Spanish Committee of Representatives of Persons with Disabilities (CERMI), the Gypsy Secretariat Foundation, and Save the Children Spain have joined forces to demand that public authorities and educational administrations implement policies to end school segregation and move towards a fully inclusive education system:

• Because segregation is a structural problem in Spanish schools.
• Because civil society must be a critical element for collective improvement.
• Because segregation is not an issue for a single group, but affects all girls and boys.
• Because based on Sustainable Development Goal 17, alliances must be forged to achieve the 2030 Agenda.
• Because it is difficult to find benefits in decisions aimed at keeping human beings separate.
• Because diversity and inclusion must be the norm, because school represents a nascent opportunity to lead an independent life that will later include paid employment considered decent, participation in political and public life, a home and a family, access to justice and economic opportunities, and above all, coexistence.

Save the Childrenis the leading independent organization in the defense of children’s rights worldwide. It has been working for over 100 years to ensure that all children survive, learn, and are protected. Currently, the organization operates in more than 120 countries. In Spain, it has been working for over 20 years with programs to support the most vulnerable children, focusing on children at risk of poverty or social exclusion. Through its programs in Spain, they provide comprehensive support to children and their families so that the economic or social exclusion situation in which children live does not prevent them from fully enjoying their rights and allows them to reach their full potential.

The Gypsy Secretariat Foundation (FSG)is an intercultural social entity that has been working for over 35 years for the promotion and equal opportunities of the Roma population in Spain and in the European context. It develops projects and services to reduce social inequalities and to defend the rights of Roma people, mainly in the areas of employment, education, health, and housing. Its work also aims to promote more active policies for the social inclusion of the Roma population, combat discrimination, and guarantee equality.

The Spanish Committee of Representatives of Persons with Disabilities (CERMI)is a civil society organization, with 9,000 associations, which is the expression of the movement of persons with disabilities and their families for political advocacy in Spain. Its main mission is to protect and promote the rights of persons with disabilities, respecting the law that guarantees inclusion, equality, and non-discrimination. CERMI was officially designated by the Spanish State as an independent mechanism for monitoring the implementation of the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Spain.

Notes

1. OECD (2020). Learning remotely when schools close: How well are students and schools prepared? Insights from PISA. Paris: OECD.
2. UNESCO (2005). Guidelines for Inclusion: Ensuring Access to Education for All. Paris, UNESCO.
3. Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2016). General comment No. 4 on the right to inclusive education.
4. Gortázar, L., Mayor, D. and Montalbán, J. (2020). “School Choice Priorities and School Segregation: Evidence from Madrid,” Working Paper Series 1/2020, Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research.
5. Rodríguez, P. and Puente, A. (2018). “Schools that quadruple the average number of poor students in their neighborhood and other extreme cases of segregation in Catalonia”. Eldiario.es. 10/29/2018.
6. Murillo, F. J., Belavi, G. and Pinilla, L. M. (2018). Public-private school segregation in Spain. Papers. Revista de Sociología, 103(3), 307-337; Save the Children (2019). Mix with me. Annex Community of Madrid. Madrid: Save the Children.
7. Rodríguez, P. and Puente, A. (2018). Op. Cit.
8. OECD (2018), Responsive School Systems: Connecting Facilities, Sectors and Programmes for Student Success, OECD Reviews of School Resources. Paris, OECD Publishing; OCDE (2012). Equity and quality in education: Supporting disadvantaged students and schools. Paris, OECD; Nusche, D. (2009), “What Works in Migrant Education?: A Review of Evidence and Policy Options”, OECD Education Working Papers, No. 22. Paris: OECD Publishing.
9. The Supreme Court, in its ruling of December 14, 2017 (ruling no. 1976/2017, cassation appeal 2965/2016), in a case concerning a student with a disability, Autism Spectrum Disorder, whose parents were seeking enrollment in a mainstream educational center, challenging the decision of the Educational Administration to place him in a special education center, establishes the essential principles and content of the right to inclusive education. It is significant that in this ruling the Supreme Court states that all domestic legislation on this matter “must be interpreted in accordance with international treaties” (Article 10.2 of the Constitution), specifically Article 24 of the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of December 13, 2006, ratified by Spain through an Instrument of Ratification published in the BOE on April 21, 2008. Therefore, according to this ruling, all legislation, both national and from the Autonomous Communities, must be interpreted in accordance with said Convention. This will require any decision made by Educational Administrations in this area to necessarily take into account all the principles and content of said Convention.
10. Save the Children (2019). “Everything you need to know about equity in PISA 2018”. Madrid, Save the Children.
11. Save the Children (2018). “Mix with me: from socioeconomic segregation to inclusive education”. Madrid, Save the Children.
12. BBVA Foundation – Ivie (2019). Essentials No. 36/2019. Socioeconomic differences in educational environments.
13. Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (2020). The figures of education in Spain. 2017-2018 academic year.
14. Save the Children (2018). Op. Cit.
15. OECD (2019). PISA in Focus 97. Does greater social diversity in schools have an impact on equity in learning outcomes? Paris, OECD.
16. Hoxby, C. (2000). “Peer effects in the classroom: Learning from gender and race variation.” National Bureau of Economic Re- search; Hanushek, E., Kain J. y Rivkin, S. (2009). “New evidence about Brown v. Board of Education:The complex effects of school racial composition on Achievement”. Journal of labor economics, 27(3): 349–383; Brunello, G. y De Paola, M. (2017). School Segregation of Immigrants and its Effects on Educational Outcomes in Europe. EENEE. Analytical report no. 30.
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31. UNESCO (2005). Guidelines for Inclusion: Ensuring Access to Education for All. Paris, UNESCO.