Definition of the target group(s)

Non-school institutions taking in early childhood

The Childcare Quality Code (arrêté du 17 décembre 2003) stipulates that the childcare facility should help ensure the harmonious integration of children with specific needs.

Pre-secondary and secondary education

All pupils with special needs who are recognised as such by a Centre for Psychological, Medical and Social Services (CPMS) or another approved centre, are eligible for integration support, including in secondary dual vocational education and training.

The legislation, governed by the Code de l’Enseignement uses the term ‘special needs pupils’ to refer to “recognised needs resulting from a particularity, disorder, permanent or semi-permanent situation of a psychological, mental, physical or psycho-emotional nature which hinders the learning project and requires, within the school, additional support to enable the pupil to pursue his or her schooling in regular and harmonious manner in mainstream or specialised education”.

Each pupil with specicial needs can benefit from reasonable accommodations through the conclusion of a reasonable accommodation protocol. 
The concept of “reasonable accommodation” is specified in the Decree of 12 December 2008: these are appropriate measures, taken on the basis of needs in a specific situation, to enable a person with a disability to participate and progress, unless these measures impose a disproportionate burden on the person who takes them. This burden is not disproportionate when sufficiently compensated by measures existing in the context of public policy on persons with disabilities. 
Reasonable accommodation shall be provided upon request :

• Parents of the minor pupil ;
• The pupil him-/herself if he/she has reached the age of majority ;
• The PMS Centre attached to the school where the pupil is enrolled ;
• A member of the educational team. 

The protocol of reasonable accommodation is drawn up by the mainstream school in collaboration with the parents of the pupil, the PMS Centre and, where appropriate, the territorial pole concerned, on the basis of a medical diagnosis. 
The diagnosis is made by a specialist in the medical, paramedical or psycho-medical field, by a multidisciplinary medical team or by the PMS centre and at the request of the parents. In addition to specialists in the above-mentioned fields, the list of diagnostic professions consists of the following professions :

• Physiotherapist ;
• Ergotherapist ;
• Speech therapist ;
• Clinical orthopedagogue ;
• Orthoptist - optometrist ;
• Psychologist ;
• Psycho-medico-social centre (CPMS). 

Each of these professions can make the diagnosis according to the specific needs of the pupil and according to his or her field of competence. The diagnosis justifying the request for one or more reasonable accommodations may be more than one year from the time the application is first submitted to a school.  
In the event of insufficient effectiveness of the reasonable accommodations put in place for the pupil, a procedure for guidance towards specialised education may be considered and proposed by the PMS Centre, if necessary with the collaboration of the territorial pole. In the event that the PMS Centre envisages an orientation towards specialised education in types 1, 2, 3, 4 or 8, it will draw up an enrollment report on the basis of the findings of the multidisciplinary examination. 

When involved, the territorial pole shall cooperate in the evaluation of reasonable accommodation protocols and, where appropriate, in considering whether or not to consider the orientation to specialised education in the event of insufficient reasonable accommodation to ensure learning adapted to the specific needs of the pupil.

An integration proposal may be submitted by one of the following actors :

• the class council of a specialised educational institution ;
• the organisation that provides guidance for pupils in the specialised education institution ;
• or the parents or guardian or the pupil him-/herself if he/she has reached the age of majority.

The total permanent integration (TPI) procedure is the following :

For each first integration, the rules relating to the territorial poles apply. The relevant details are set out in Circular 8985 of 14 July 2023 on territorial poles.

If all partners agree to start a total permanent integration, documents must be completed and signed by all stakeholders. Before notifying the authorities of their population, the head of each mainstream school must specify whether the pupil in TPI is accompanied by a special school or by a territorial pole, and the date of the first entry into total permanent integration. This must be done at the start of each new school year or as soon as a new TPI starts.
Information concerning pupils entered as being accompanied by a territorial pole will be automatically sent to "e-pôles" in the screen corresponding to their mainstream school.

The procedure for partial integration is as follows :

1. The proposal is submitted to the school head of specialised education.
2. The school head or organising authority of the specialised education school concerned consults all those involved.
3. To continue the procedure, the consultation must result in a favourable opinion signed by all the stakeholders involved (the Class Council of the specialised school, the organisation responsible for the pupil's guidance (specialised and ordinary), the parents, the person with parental authority or the pupil him-/herself if he/she has reached the age of majority, the educational team of the ordinary school).
4. If the consultation results in an unfavourable opinion, each partner who disagrees will give written reasons for its position to the school head or the organising authority, depending on its network. The reasons must be kept in the specialised school.
5. As soon as the proposal for integration has been accepted, the definition of an integration project adapted to the pupil's needs is sought jointly by :
   - the class council of the specialised school, assisted by the organisation responsible for the pupil's guidance ;
   - the class council of the mainstream school concerned, assisted by the psycho-medico-social centre which provides guidance for the school's pupils.
6. Various information concerning integration must be completed in various documents and sent to the Administration, in order to draw up the integration protocol.
7. Integration must begin on the date specified in the protocol.

Specific support measures

Integration may be undertaken using three possible approaches (defined in the decree of 5 February 2009) :

1. total permanent integration : the pupil attends all classes in ordinary education throughout the year ;
2. partial permanent integration : the pupil attends some classes in an ordinary school throughout the year, and others in a specialised school ;
3. total temporary integration : the pupil attends all classes in ordinary education for one or more limited periods.

The integration of a pupil into ordinary education requires coordination of the educational teams. Support from specialised educational personnel may be provided. Depending on the type of integration, the pupil will be accompanied by a different partner. Total permanent integration will be accompanied by a territorial pole, while partial integration will be accompanied by a specialised education school. The qualifications of such personnel depend on the pupil’s specific needs. Allowances, operational subsidies, and more favourable staffing norms are shared between the ordinary school and the specialised school, according to the type of integration and the disability. If specific equipment is needed for the integrated pupil, it must be made available to the ordinary school concerned. The pupil in total permanent integration benefits from free transport. The one in temporary integration, being registered in special needs education, only benefits from the transport to specialised education until he/she passes into total permanent integration.

Certain agreements (set out in the decrees of 30 April 2009) were made between the French Community and the Regions (Walloon Region, Brussels-Capital Region) to formalise and support assistance for disabled pupils. The Agency for a Quality Life (AviQ : Agence pour une Vie de Qualité) for the Walloon Region, and the Brussels Fund for the Social and Professional Integration of Disabled People, also known as PHARE (Personne Handicapée Autonomie Recherchée – Disabled Person Autonomy Sought) for the Brussels-Capital Region may contribute to certain costs associated with integration (the purchase of special equipment, the adaptation of a building, etc.). These bodies also offer support with the integration process (assistance with communication, psycho-educational support, etc.).

Thus, Early Aid Services can provide advice and information to schools in collaboration with the psycho-medico-social centers, and with the parents' consent. These services are present to help the child and his family up to the age of eight, in educational, social and psychological terms.

The Integration Support Services (SAI), subsidised by AViQ, can, at the parents’ request, support pupils between the ages of 6 and 20 with their schooling. They thus take over from the Early Aid Services for young children. Amongst other tasks, the staff in the SAI can:

• give residual specialised support to the work of the school with the young person whose schooling is made difficult by his/her disability ;
• respond to one-off needs and/or help with the gradual attainment of full-time schooling for young people with disabilities who have either dropped out of school or are not receiving schooling.

On the other hand, schooling continuity services (SAS) can help pupils undergoing a crisis by taking them in temporarily (decree of 15 December 2006).