, the arguments are not any longer institution orientated. The way and the place of special support depends on categories with regard to personal conditions. In this case the terminology of "Needs for Special School" ("Sonderschulbedürftigkeit") has changed to "Special Educational Needs" ("sonderpädagogischer Förderbedarf").
Within the 16 Länder different times were taken to organise school projects for the integration of children with and without disabilities. It took another 15 years until the first Land (Saarland in 1988) established integration as a part of the school-law, which meant that integration had a regular status. Schleswig-Holstein followed together with Berlin in 1990. This pattern has continued during the following years.
In 1994, the KMK passed recommendations for special educational needs for all schools in Germany. Recommendations only can be passed by full agreement of all 16 Ministers. Due to this, it was a special event in the development in Germany. For the first time all Länder agreed that prevention, integration and education in special schools is a task of special needs education.
From 1996 until2000 the KMK has developed recommendations fort he following issues of special educational needs support:
- Erziehung und Unterricht von Kindern mit autistischem Verhalten
- Education of Children with autism
- Förderschwerpunkt emotionale und soziale Entwicklung
- SEN-support emitional and social developments
- Förderschwerpunkt Lernen
- SEN-support learning
- Förderschwerpunkt Sprache
- SEN Support language and speech
- Förderschwerpunkt Sehen
- SEN support vison
- Förderschwerpunkt Hören
- SEN-support hearing
- Förderschwerpunkt Unterricht kranker Schülerinnen und Schüler
- SEN support fort he sick pupils
- Förderschwerpunkt körperliche und motorische Entwicklung
- SEN support physical and motor development
- Förderschwerpunkt geistige Entwicklung.
- SEN-support mental development
- Many pupils with special educational needs are integrated in mainstream schools - especially in primary schools - in all of the 16 Länder. However, there are still a lot of barriers within the school-laws. In German Länder the parents have the right to choose the place of education for their child- in integrated or segregated settings, but only with approval of the school administration/ authorities. A free choice is forced by parents associations and teachers unions. Within the signature of the UN-charter, 2009, the Bundesländer will check their laws. The KMK- Working Group SNE starts to develop concepts towards a more inclusive educational system
- The concept of teacher training is changing in many Länder. In some universities, SEN is a part of the initial teacher training for all teachers. In the framework of SEN teacher-training, integration or examinations in integration settings are required.
- All Länder have built up a system of co-operation between special schools and mainstream schools. Special schools get more and more the task to work as a resource centre. This kind of work will be intensified and extended in consideration of inclusive education.
Additional Information about Special Needs Education in Germany can be found in the following documents and from the following links:
- Educational Support and Guidance: http://www.kmk.org/fileadmin/doc/Dokumentation/Bildungswesen_en_pdfs/support_and_guidance.pdf
- Guidance for families with disabled children: http://www.behindertenbeauftragter.de/SharedDocs/Publikationen/DE/Elternratgeber_gemeinesame_Bildung.pdf?__blob=publicationFile
- KMK Website