The Equal Rights Commission for Persons with Disabilities at the Ministry of Justice continues to work to enforce the Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities Law and the accessibility regulations under it, in order to ensure the right of students with disabilities to an equal, accessible, and inclusive education.
Last week, the commission filed a civil lawsuit with the Petah Tikva Magistrate's Court on behalf of a student with autism, against the Petah Tikva Municipality, the mayor, and the director of the municipality's education administration, for ongoing violations of accessibility obligations at the city's Bar Lev Elementary School.
According to the lawsuit, the student, born in 2014, who deals with significant auditory sensitivity as part of autism, was forced to use noise-canceling headphones on a daily and continuous basis throughout his school years, due to a noisy and unsuitable study environment, which caused him distress and anxiety.
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Despite repeated requests from his parents, clear medical recommendations, requests from the commission, and written warnings, the municipality did not make the necessary accessibility adjustments, primarily the installation of an acoustic classroom.
The lawsuit also claims that the municipality did not notify the parents on time of their right to submit a request for individual accessibility, did not process the submitted requests, did not contact the Ministry of Education to examine the budget for the adjustment, and even rejected the request on the false claim that acoustic adjustments are only provided to students with hearing impairments.
This claim contradicts the Equal Rights for People with Disabilities Law and the accessibility regulations, which state that eligibility for accommodations is derived from the student's needs due to his disability and not from the type of disability.
Attorney Farid Mahajna, District Claims Officer at the Commission and the plaintiff's attorney in the case, filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Commission and asked the court to order the immediate implementation of the necessary accessibility adjustments, including the installation of an acoustic classroom, and to order the defendants to pay compensation in the amount of NIS 73,520 for violating the right to accessibility and the ongoing violation of the student's right to an equal education.
This is the maximum amount by law.
Commission for Equal Rights for People with Disabilities: "A student with a disability is entitled to receive educational services in an equal, accessible and tailored manner. When a local authority ignores appeals, rejects requests based on an incorrect interpretation of the law and does not make basic accessibility adjustments, this is a serious and ongoing violation of the student's rights. We would like to remind the public that the right to an equal education is not a recommendation, but a binding legal obligation.".
Commissioner for Equal Rights for People with Disabilities, Dan Rashel: "The commission will continue to act decisively and use legal tools to ensure that students with disabilities are not marginalized, and that public authorities will fulfill their duty to enable accessible, equal, and respectful education for every student in Israel.".
The Commission for Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities operates under the Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities Law and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, to which the State of Israel is a signatory.
There are currently approximately 1.32 million people with disabilities living in Israel, representing approximately 131% of the population. Of these, approximately 100,000 were added following the War of Rebirth.
Additionally, in Israel there are 390,000 students eligible for special education.
The municipality's spokeswoman said: The student in question suffers from autism and other disabilities, including noise disorder. This is in accordance with the results of the medical tests received in his case. In the meantime, the municipality carried out a series of works in the classroom, at a total cost of tens of thousands of shekels, in order to adapt it to the disability from which the student suffers.
The work was carried out subject to a permit issued by the Ministry of Education and in accordance with the Ministry's rules. An engineer from the Ministry of Education approved the adjustments to the classroom in accordance with an adjustments report from a certified acoustic consultant that addresses the child's specific disability.
It should be emphasized that the classroom was ready in the first few days of the school year. It should also be emphasized that the authority officials were in continuous contact with the mother, and it was explained to her in detail that the adjustments made provide a solution to the relevant disability, according to the medical documents.
It should be noted that the municipality carries out hundreds of projects each year to make classrooms accessible to various disabilities, at an annual cost of millions of shekels, in accordance with the approval of the Ministry of Education and in coordination with the relevant authorities in the ministry.""
