17-year-old Håvard Gunnlaugsson has a severe developmental disability. When he started at Voss secondary school last autumn, the timetable was over five hours each day, without a break in between. – He did not get a break in the same way as ordinary students. When he had a break, they counted it as teaching time, says his father, Yngvar Gunnlaugsson. Parents complain to the principal. – Then the answer was simply that they had always done it that way. Pupils have therefore been exposed to this for years, he believes. – Håvard lacks spoken language and independent walking function, and has a cognitive level that does not match his age, explains his father. Photo: Privat Lost teaching time By counting the breaks as teaching time, Vestland County met the requirement for the number of teaching hours, and shortened the school day for Håvard and the staff. But in reality, of course, he had to have breaks, even if it wasn’t on the timetable. – The actual teaching time was thus shorter than the law requires. He missed about an hour a day, says Gunnlaugsson. And the breaks were not at the same time as the regular pupils’ break. Both the father and the Norwegian Association of the Disabled are concerned that disabled and able-bodied people must be allowed to socialize in groups during school. Pupils with tailored education at Voss secondary school did not have a break. Photo: Simon Skjelvik Brandseth / news – Apartheid-like practice Parents complained to the Discrimination Board in August 2022. – We have called this an apartheid-like practice. The county municipality has of course had no intention of segregation. But in practice they distinguish some students from other students. This is the opinion of the head of the Norwegian Disability Association’s regional office, Arild Birkenes, who drew up the complaint. – It is very serious to take away from students the opportunity to be with each other. The county municipality would never find ways to prevent pupils from being together on the basis of ethnicity or gender, says Birkenes. He claims the arrangement at Voss was approved by the educational management in the county. – It must be economics that underlies this. – Basically, Håvard is a happy boy. He likes routines, but not unexpected things and transitions, says the father. Photo: Privat Fylket braut lova The Discrimination Board has now concluded: Vestland County Council has discriminated against Håvard due to disability. “Among other things, he was not allowed to socialize and practice social skills with able-bodied pupils. He was treated worse than the pupils in the ordinary classes”, writes the tribunal. – The practice of taking time off from pupils is against the law, says Birkenes. Principal Svein Inge Styve refers to the county council. Training director Bjørn Lyngedal refers to subject manager for quality in training, Aase Bruntveit Njøs. – We are correcting ourselves according to the decision in the tribunal, and will take it with us further in our work, she says. – Should correct the Debts about segregation, she comments as follows: – Pupils should not be segregated. They must belong to groups and be included in good ways. But she admits that it may have failed. – It may have been our practices that are not in line with how we want it to be. Our aim is to put it right. – Does the desire to integrate apply regardless of how severely impaired the student is? – A student must experience mastery in the classroom, not only academically but also socially. Also in the break, says Njøs. – The county municipality of course talks about diversity and inclusion, but this was the exact opposite, says Birkenes. – We see this as a robbery of diversity, also for students who are not disabled. They are deprived of the opportunity to associate with pupils who do not look like themselves, says Arild Birkenes. Photo: Leif Rune Løland / news Don’t know the reasons Njøs can’t answer why the timetable was without a break. – That is a good question. It may be to bring in the right teaching staff, and logistical reasons. It can also have to do with the students’ day itself, for example to avoid them being tired from too long a school day. She hopes and believes it was not for financial reasons. – It is the principal himself who sets up the school day in order to get the cabal to work with the employees. It must have been a common practice. Also at other schools According to Njøs, other schools may also have had school days without recess for pupils with adapted teaching. – If someone has it, I have given a clear signal that it must be changed. We tackled this at the start of school last year, she says. The change was made effective from 1 January 2023. The Handikapforbundet and Håvard’s parents emphasize that they do not criticize the teachers. – We are very satisfied with the staff who do the daily work together with Håvard and follow him up. This is a problem at system level, says Gunnlaugsson. Getting social training in the break Birkenes believes that Vestland must now inform all other counties that the Discrimination Board has now declared this practice unlawful. When Håvard now has recess at the same time as regular pupils, the father is satisfied. – He gets the social training he needs, and ordinary pupils get to see more that there are functional differences in society, when they are more together in the common area during recess.
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The disabled Håvard did not get a break at school – the county broke the law – news Vestland
