Special education is collapsing - and with it the entire system

Yael Odom presents an analysis of the special education crisis in Israel: the number of students eligible for services has soared to 418,400 (16% of all students), the budget has jumped to 24-26 billion shekels, but teachers have not received appropriate training for integration, schools are empty of therapists, and the entire system is collapsing under a domino effect of frustration and violence in classrooms.

Yael Odom writes an analysis of the special education crisis in Israel, which she says is not a "sexy" issue in party platforms but affects children's lives more than other topics. Key data: the number of students eligible for special education services has reached a record of about 418,400 students (about 16% of all students), an annual growth of 8-10% compared to 1-1.5% growth in the general system. The special education budget has soared to over 24-26 billion shekels. Most students (over 60%) study in regular education frameworks, but teachers have not received appropriate training for integration, schools are empty of therapists, and principals are forced to divide limited treatment hours among a growing number of students. The writer describes a domino effect: teachers face extreme situations without tools, diagnosed students do not receive adequate treatment, and lessons cannot be conducted. She quotes a teacher who described a first-grade student who threw notebooks and pulled out hair. The writer argues that the 2018 reform, intended to integrate children with disabilities into regular frameworks, is not being implemented properly, and teachers feel that parents place children in regular settings even when it is not ideal. In conclusion, she states that before grades in math and AI, classrooms need to function at the most basic level.