Eight families' struggle forces the government to extend education for students with disabilities

Barcelona"Until". This preposition—and the different ways it's interpreted—is what prevented Maria and many of her classmates from continuing their studies this school year. In fact, the Generalitat's interpretation of this preposition has meant that, for some time now, students with disabilities have seen their time in special education centers shorter than they expected.

Now, however, after months of struggle, eight families have managed to get the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) to rule in their favor with a ruling that represents a judicial setback for Education and, above all, opens the door for all students with disabilities to extend their schooling in a special education center by one or two years.

It all started with Maria, who suffers from autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In her case, one of the traits of ASD that manifests itself is the need for joy, but also impatience. It was this second step that led her to take the initiative in this fight. "I was only her lawyer, but she was the one who went to get her colleagues to join the group and fight together," admits Pablo Feu, her father and the lawyer who handled the case.

Outside the center two years earlier

To understand the conflict, one must look at what both the Spanish Organic Law on Education (LOE) and the Catalan decree implementing it (175/2022) state, which are apparently clear: "In special education centers, students may be enrolled until the age of twenty-one." However, the interpretation of this "until" can reduce or extend the enrollment of a student with a disability by up to two years. For now, Education interprets this "until" as meaning: It implies that no student can be enrolled in school when they turn twenty-one. However, this interpretation, in some cases, ends up expelling students as young as nineteen from the system. The reason? The Generalitat's interpretation excludes all students who turn twenty-one during the year in which the school year ends, regardless of what day of the year their birthday is.

"If these children don't repeat behaviors and education, they lose everything; it's not like us who retain it. With the current system, our children's lives, in the best-case scenario, end at twenty-one, and what has cost us a titanic effort to achieve, we can lose in just one year with this design," Pablo describes.

Faced with the restrictive interpretation by the Generalitat (Catalan government), the eight families Maria had joined decided to go to the regional ministry to request that they reconsider their interpretation of the law and allow their children to attend the special education center until the last day they turned 21. The Education Ministry denied this request. The families filed a request, which was also denied by the department. Finally, they took the case to court and won.

In a ruling on June 30 of this year—just four days before the closing date for special education center registration—three magistrates from the TSJC (High Court of Justice) ruled in favor of the eight families: their children have the right to be enrolled in school "until the day they turn 21 at the start of the school year." The judges argue that, in this way, it "makes it possible" for these students to remain in school for as long as they are 21 years old and "prevents them from having to leave school when they turn 22" without completing the school year and "with the detrimental effects this entails for the students."

Although the ruling clarifies that the judges' decision only applies to the eight students who have appealed, the resolution creates a legal precedent for all families who face this impediment. In fact, in their brief, the three judges are forceful in stating that the Generalitat's interpretation of the law is inconsistent with the guarantee of rights. "We must insist that the rules must be interpreted and applied in the way most favorable to the exercise of fundamental rights, without resorting to restrictive interpretations that diminish them," the judges point out, before concluding that the current interpretation does not meet that objective.

Changes for the next course

Today, these eight students are guaranteed schooling at their special education center until they reach the age of 21, but they wanted to go a step further. "We won, but families should know that this option is possible, because it hasn't been explained," laments Aldo Ibáñez, father of Martí, another student with ASD at the same center. For this reason, Ibáñez encouraged Pablo Feu to make their lawsuit public together. "We want other parents in the same situation to feel relieved when they read the news," both parents explain.

And their fight has borne fruit: as Education sources explained to ARA, next year the regional ministry "intends to offer clear criteria in line with the ruling, so that those families who wish to exercise the right to remain in school until the last day of their 21st birthday can do so." The same sources admit that "it will be important to inform families of this possibility," but they also issue a stern warning. "This measure guarantees a right, but at the same time reduces the number of vacant places available in special education centers, and this will be especially noticeable when the school year begins."

"Tomorrow is too late"

Despite celebrating the victory, Feu and Ibáñez are aware that the future awaiting their children is complicated. They complain that once their time at the special education center is over—which will now last a little longer—their outlook is unfair and discouraging. "It's a time more like an asylum than a developmental one. Maria has a very positive attitude, and I'm afraid that what awaits her will end up depressing her," warns Feu.

For this reason, Ibáñez, along with other parents, is promoting a foundation to try to ensure that the support their children receive after school is more similar to what they've had up until now and allows them to continue moving forward. The foundation is called Vitalis and already has around thirty members. But it's not the only one; other students are now part of the EVI Association. "Exclusion from the system means that almost every family sets up a foundation," Ibáñez criticizes.

Feu proudly explains that his daughter has a motto: "Tomorrow is too late." And this is the mantra these families apply as they face this new stage. "Maria is right, and we will continue fighting and seeking options because they only have one life, and indeed, tomorrow is too late," the father concludes.