Because they have a disability or have been diagnosed with a learning disability, some pupils are redirected to special education, a sector designed to respond more appropriately to the specific needs of pupils.  However, the French Community has been advocating a more inclusive model of education for the past few years and has put in place a series of measures.  

Many pupils, although enrolled in special education, continue to attend classes in an ordinary school, with adapted and personalised support. In December 2017, the French Community had already passed a decree introducing the so-called "reasonable accommodation" regime. This decree requires ordinary schools to put in place appropriate measures, taken according to the needs in a concrete situation, in order to allow a person with special needs to access, participate and progress in his or her school career, unless these measures impose a disproportionate burden on the institution that has to adopt them.

However, the means to achieve this were insufficient.

From September 2022 onwards, each pre-primary, primary and secondary school in the French Community will be obliged to enter into a cooperation agreement with a specialised school through a territorial pole.  This development should above all enable each child, each teacher and each school in ordinary education to benefit from the expertise of professionals in specialised education, within this territorial pole.

The challenge is also to train teachers who are confronted with a multiplicity of difficulties in their classrooms. The territorial poles therefore aim at individual and collective missions. The aim is to inform and support pupils with special needs, to assist teachers in making reasonable adjustments and to develop tools for educational and teaching teams. The territorial poles will therefore provide the necessary resources.

Source :  Eurydice Unit – Belgium French Community