ABSTRACT
All children have the right to be educated. The right of all children to education is enshrined in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights and reiterated in many national policy statements. Many countries – and educational policy-makers – simultaneously accept the UN Declaration guaranteeing education for all and exclude children with disabilities from education. This chapter sets out a number of strategies which policy-makers can adopt to improve the provision of special education in their countries. Educational and social policies are usually more detailed and flexible than the legislation that underpins them. There is a great deal of outmoded thinking on disability and special education, and it is very unfortunate when these defective understandings are built into legislation. In many countries voluntary bodies, while no longer provide substantial funding have, through their legacy of past initiatives, a central role in organizing educational and other provision for those with disabilities.
