High Court rejects Education Ministry move to shorten special education school day
Justices suggest manpower shortage can be made up through use of assistants and national service volunteers, to ensure children with autism have an adequate educational framework
The High Court of Justice on Sunday struck down a government decision to shorten the school day for special education frameworks nationwide beginning this fall.
The ruling means that once the school year opens on September 1, children on the autism spectrum will continue to stay in school until 4:45 p.m., instead of finishing their day at 4 p.m. as the Education Ministry had announced in June.
In a unanimous decision, a three-justice panel ruled that it was accepting two petitions filed against the ministry decision and rejecting the move to shorten the school day.
The Education Ministry had told the court that it made the move due to a shortage in manpower ahead of the upcoming school year.
The justices wrote that while they understood the difficult decision facing the Education Ministry and believed it made such a move “with a heavy heart,” it nevertheless ordered the ministry to reverse the planned cut. The court noted that while many students in traditional education frameworks continue their day in extra-curricular activities and social interactions, the same is not always possible for children on the autism spectrum.
The court noted that in municipalities without a manpower shortage, there was no reason to shorten the school day, and that in those areas with a shortage, local authorities should work to staff the final hour of the day with assistants, as well as with young adults performing national service. In those municipalities where such solutions were not available, the court said it would not intervene if the school day still had to be shortened.
The two petitions were filed by ALUT, the Israeli Society for Autistic Children, and by a group of parents with children on the autism spectrum. Both petitions had argued that the Education Ministry’s decision was made across the board without taking into account those areas without a shortage of manpower.
“We welcome the important High Court decision and believe that together with the Education Ministry, we will succeed in finding an education model which will provide an answer for all students on the spectrum and their parents,” ALUT said in a statement Sunday, after the decision.
According to ALUT, there are more than 31,000 autistic children and teenagers in Israel who are enrolled in special education frameworks, including in 885 specialized nursery schools, 79 specialized schools, and more than 1,000 classrooms within standard schools designed for those on the autism spectrum.
The Times of Israel Community.