ABSTRACT
The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 (SENDA) amended Part 3 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) to remove the exemption of education and introduced a new section, Part 4 (Education). This creates new legal rights for students with disabilities. The Act makes it unlawful for relevant institutions to treat a disabled person ‘less favourably’ than a non-disabled person for reasons related to his or her disability (without ‘justification’) and requires institutions to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to ensure that a disabled student is not placed at a ‘substantial disadvantage’. The DDA 1995 originally only covered universities to the extent that they were providers of goods, facilities and other services. The implications of this new legislation are wide reaching and the ramifications still to be fully evaluated. The Disability Rights Commission (DRC) has published a ‘Code of Practice for providers of post 16 education and related services’ which provides useful guidance on the Act and its implementation.
