High Court rules dyslexic child did not receive proper educational support from the Minister for Education
Mr Justice Anthony Barr, in the High Court, has ruled that a child who suffers with severe dyslexia was not properly educated whilst at mainstream school.
The mother of the child had been told that the school would be establishing a specialist classroom for her son. However, in what was described as an error by the Minister (for Education), the decision to provide the class was revoked.
Background to the Case
Whilst in second class of primary school, the child was found to have particular difficulties with reading. An expert assessment was carried out in 2020 and 2021 where it was determined that the boy had severe dyslexia. The expert was of the opinion that the child would benefit from increased support and a smaller class size. The expert also recommended that the child attend a Specific Learning Disability Spacial Class, however it has been the policy of the Minister (from 2017 onwards) that children with disabilities should be accommodated in mainstream class wherever possible.
Thus, the Department of Education had not sanctioned a new Specific Learning Disability class since 2011.
In April 2021, the child's mother was told that a Specific Learning Difficulty class had been approved by the Minister for Education at her son's school. Three weeks later, however, she was informed that the approval had been withdrawn as the original sanction had been an error on the part of the National Council for Special Education.
The mother issued proceedings against the Minister and the NCSE on the basis that her son was being educated in an inappropriate setting. This was supported during the trial of the issue by a letter from the school's principal stating that the school was not in a position to meet the child's needs due to the severity of his condition.
High Court
Although the court does not have the power to interfere with the policies of the legislature (separation of powers), it is properly entitled to consider whether the policy is in accordance with the provisions of the Education Act 1998 and the Education of Persons with Special Education Needs Act 2004; which was answered in the affirmative.
The court accepted that the Minister's policy did not prohibit the establishment of any new SLD classes. However, it was held that, based on the Minister's decisions since 2011, the Minister had "pretty firmly set her mind against" astablishing any new SLD classes. The court determined that the Minister had therefore adopted an inflexible policy which prevented any new SLD classes being created.
Although the court held that the mother could not rely on any claim of legitimate expectation, nor had she placed any reliance on the representation that a SLD class had been sanctioned, it was held that the child was not receiving an appropriate education, as is his constitutional right, which was supported by the letter from the principal and which was not rebutted by the State.
Given that there is an ongoing review of the Minister's policy on SLD classes and since the NCSE is developing policy advice for special education, the court deferred its final order on the current situation pending the outcome of the reviews. It did make a declaration, however, that the child did not receive an appropriate education until November 2021.