Disputes Committee for Appropriate Education

This time it concerns a student who is making the transition from primary to secondary school. The student in question has ADHD and is on medication for it. He receives primary education at a regular elementary school. The elementary school has issued a clear recommendation, namely that the pupil can attend a regular VMBO school. For the learning problems LWOO (learning support education) has been advised and indicated. The student's parents enroll him in a regular VMBO school. However, the school refers him to an orthopedagogical and didactic center (OPDC). This placement is not only contrary to the admission procedure of this OPDC, which stipulates that the student must be enrolled in a regular school of the partnership, but also contrary to the advice of the elementary school. In addition, the school has included in its own admission procedure that the advice of the elementary school must be followed. The ruling is dated Sept. 18, 2014. Since 2015, school advice has been leading in the placement of students in secondary education anyway. Thus, under the current regulations, it is even more difficult for secondary schools to disregard the elementary school's school recommendation. For schools in primary education, the value of school advice is increasing and it is therefore becoming more important to make this advice carefully. In this case too, the school was ruled against by the Disputes Committee for Appropriate Education. The parents' request was declared well-founded and the competent authority was advised to place the student at the school after all and to consult with the parents about their son's support needs and the way in which this support can be provided. This is how the Disputes Committee for Appropriate Education thus upholds the goal of appropriate education, which is to further reduce the number of absentees and ensure that all children receive an appropriate educational place.