Israeli Education Ministry Cuts Funding for Special and Small Classes Nationwide

Less than a month before the new school year begins, Israel's Ministry of Education is implementing significant budget cuts affecting special education classes integrated within regular schools. These include communication classes for students with autism, classes for children with intellectual disabilities, mental health issues, and specialized programs like MABAR and Etgar. Previously, communication classes were funded based on 5-8 students, with full teaching hours allocated per student. Under the new directive, funding for each student beyond the sixth will be halved, reducing allocated teaching hours from 13.6 to 6.6 per student. This cut effectively eliminates a full teaching position per class, forcing schools to operate with fewer teachers.

The ministry's letter, sent recently during summer break, requires school principals to urgently revise their schedules, leading to reduced individual treatments and private lessons for students. Educators fear that over time, schools will avoid opening new communication classes due to resource constraints. School psychologists and counselors, already overwhelmed, must prioritize special education classes at the expense of other students needing support. The cuts are expected to widen disparities, as wealthier municipalities may supplement funding, while weaker ones cannot, potentially causing regression among affected children.

Disability advocacy groups such as ALUT, ILAN, and AKIM have repeatedly sought responses from the ministry since June but report no reply. Liel Peleg, head of education and welfare at ALUT, stated the ministry "acted under the radar to drastically cut budgets for special classes, potentially harming tens of thousands of students with disabilities this year." She warned the cuts would reduce teaching hours, emotional therapies, and other essential services, risking the closure of new special classes and undermining inclusive education.

Lior Bachar, principal of the Democratic School in Hadera, described the immediate impact as a significant reduction in teacher hours, forcing layoffs. He criticized the timing and lack of consultation with school leaders, noting the cuts will diminish the quality of education and integration opportunities for special needs students. Bachar also highlighted the ministry's failure to respond to his request for implementing a promised "safety net" to mitigate these effects. The policy shift raises concerns about long-term damage to inclusive education frameworks across Israel.