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In the News

Global State of Inclusion in Education: Promises Made Must Become Promises Kept

Tim Shriver and young boy in a motorized wheelchair sharing a laugh.
Special Olympics Chairman Tim Shriver greets athletes as they prepare for the parade of athletes at the Motor Activity Training Program at NYU Abu Dhabi with volunteers, coaches and trainers. The athletes move through a series of activities and exercises designed to enhance motor skills and physical conditioning.

For International Day of Education, Special Olympics’ has issued its second annual letter on the Global State of Inclusion in Education. Here is an excerpt from the letter:

As we took stock of the past year—consulting with experts in inclusion, government officials, and people with IDD—three significant developments stood out that require our urgent attention.

First, despite ratifying international treaties that guarantee the right to inclusive education, governments consistently fail to provide sufficient financing for inclusive policies and evidence-based practices. This remains the most significant barrier to inclusion at a time of growing recognition that inclusion drives student learning. Real systemic change requires the dramatic expansion of evidence-based inclusive practices—such as Special Olympics’ Unified Champion Schools program—which serve as positive disruptors or catalysts to systemic change.

Next, the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) has created both promise and challenges for the inclusion of children with IDD in education systems.

While educators and parents see AI’s potential to foster more accessible and personalized learning experiences, they worry about the real risk that this revolution could deepen existing inequities, leaving these children even further behind. To avoid this outcome, deliberate action must be taken to ensure the inclusion of and meaningful collaboration with the IDD community. While G7 nations recently pledged to ensure accessible, affordable technology and inclusive innovation for people with disabilities, it is on all of us to hold them accountable to ensure these commitments yield tangible results.

Finally, while building capacity for inclusion among teachers and school leadership is critical to accelerating reform, governments and education systems lack frameworks that clearly define inclusion. This prevents inclusive practices from being embedded in teaching, classroom practices and professional development training for educators. As a lifelong teacher, I have experienced this firsthand. Special Olympics has begun to tackle this challenge in partnership with the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s EASEL Lab and CAST (formerly known as the Center for Applied Special Technology).

As we assess the state of inclusion in education, we issue this letter in solidarity with millions of parents, siblings and children with IDD who have been denied the right and dignity of access to school for too long. And with them, we challenge policymakers, educators and community makers to keep their promise: let every child come to school and fully participate to the best of their ability. Let every child come to school to learn. Choose to include all children, no exceptions.


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