On Wednesday, Teachers’ Union secretary general Yaffa Ben David sent a sharp letter to Education Ministry director general Meir Shimoni, renewing her demand that regular classes be limited to two integrated students with individual support packages. She said the ministry is breaking prior commitments by placing too many students who need special support in one classroom, hurting both the integrated pupils and the rest of the class.
Ben David stressed that the union is not opposed to integration of students with special needs, but said it must be done in a “systematic, clear and responsible” way. She noted that the students involved have a wide range of needs, medical, behavioral, emotional and cognitive, and argued that one blanket limit cannot fit every case.
According to Ben David, many schools now place seven or even eight integrated students in a single class, without enough professional staff or suitable conditions. She wrote that when a student is integrated into a regular class “without sufficient therapeutic support, without proper training for the staff and without professional response, all the children in the class are harmed, both the student and his classmates.” She also said the burden on teachers is heavy because “teachers are not professionals in therapy, medicine or mental health” and cannot handle complex needs alone when there is often no assistant, no therapists and no adequate professional framework.
Ben David rejected the ministry’s claim that a cap is impossible because of a High Court ruling, calling that an incorrect interpretation. She said that even if no broad limit can be set for all integrated students, limits can and should be imposed for students with individual support packages in regular classes, as was done in the past. The union is demanding a binding policy, enforcement mechanisms to prevent violations, and proper therapeutic and educational support. Her letter came after the National Parents’ Leadership last week demanded that the ministry reject the union’s ultimatum, calling it discriminatory and dangerous and accusing the union of targeting children instead of fighting for more staffing.
