Table 1
National In-School Supports and Related Disability Legislation.
| COUNTRY | TERMINOLOGY | UNDERSTANDING OF/DEFINITION |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | Students with Disability | The Disability Standards aim to eliminate, as far as possible, discrimination against persons on the ground of disability in the area of education and training; Schools make reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities. (Australian Department of Education, 2005) |
| Canada | Depending on the jurisdiction the following terms are used:
| Each jurisdiction has its own SEN/Inclusion definition and policy based on Article 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms |
| Republic of Ireland | Special Education Needs | A continuum of education provision for students with special education needs, ranging from fully inclusive mainstream classes, special classes in mainstream schools to placement in a special school and home tuition in exceptional cases (NCSE, 2024) |
| United Kingdom: England | Special Education Needs | Special education needs support that can include a special learning programme, additional help from a teacher or assistant, learning in smaller groups, support taking part in activities and communicating with peers, and support with physical or personal care needs. (UK Government, no date) |
| United Kingdom: Scotland | Special Education Needs/Additional Educational Needs | Additional support for learning grounded in the belief that inclusive education is a fundamental human right, acknowledging diversity, and aiming to ensure that all children and young people can reach their highest potential (Scottish Government, 2017) |
| United Kingdom: Wales | Special Education Needs/Additional Learning Needs | Special education is provided in various forms, including offering additional support to a child within a regular classroom, educating the child separately in a specially equipped unit within a mainstream school, or in a dedicated special school. (Government of Wales, 2004) |
| United Kingdom: Northern Ireland | Special Education Needs | Special education provision ensures that students with SEN but without a statement (IEP) are educated in mainstream schools. It also ensures that those with a statement (IEP) are educated in mainstream schools unless this is not the parents’ choice or is insufficient. (Northern Irealnd Assembly, 2016) |
| United States | Students with Disabilities | Students with disabilities are provided with free, appropriate, public education that includes specialized instruction in the least restricted environment. Their specialized instruction and access to related services is documented in an Individualized Education Program (IEP). (US Department of Education, 2004) |
Table 2
International ISS Laws and Effectiveness for Children Treated for Cancer.
| COUNTRY | SURVIVAL RATE* | ISS/DISABILITY RIGHTS LEGISLATION | POTENTIAL APPLICATION TO CHILDREN TREATED FOR CANCER | EFFECTIVENESS | RATIFICATION OF THE UN CRPD** |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 83.8% | Disability Discrimination Act (1992), Disability Standards for Education (2005) | Two potential qualifying education disability categories: a) “The presence in the body of organisms causing disease or illness” or b) “A disorder or malfunction that results in the person learning differently from a person without the disorder or malfunction” | Limited evidence that Australian students with a history of cancer are being granted access to IEPs/ILPs. | 17 July 2008 |
| Canada | 82% | Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1981) | Potential qualifying special education disability category: a) Communication, Learning Disability: “a neurodevelopmental disorder that persistently and significantly has an impact on the ability to learn and use academic and other skills …difficulties in one or more cognitive processes, such as phonological processing; memory and attention; processing speed; perceptual-motor processing; visual-spatial. ” processing; executive functions (e.g., self-regulation of behavior and emotions, planning, organizing of thoughts and activities, prioritizing, decision making)” | Limited empirical evidence of Canadian students with a history of cancer being granted access to special education and related services. | 11 March 2010 |
| Republic of Ireland | 81% | Education for Persons with Special Education Needs Act (2004) | No specific special education eligibility criteria fits children treated for cancer, but Students with Educational Needs (SEN) are defined broadly as having: a) “a restriction in the capacity of the person to participate in and benefit from education on account of an enduring physical, sensory, mental health or learning disability, or any other conditions which results in a person learning differently from a person without that condition.” | No empirical evidence of students in the Republic of Ireland with a history of cancer being granted access to special education and related services. | 20 March 2018 |
| COUNTRY | SURVIVAL RATE* | SPECIAL EDUCATION/DISABILITY RIGHTS LEGISLATION | POTENTIAL APPLICATION TO CHILDREN TREATED FOR CANCER | EFFECTIVENESS | RATIFICATION OF THE UN CRPD** |
| United Kingdom: England | 85% | Special Education Needs and Disability Regulations (2014) | Children treated for cancer fall under protected disability status. Students may qualify for special education as a child or young adult of compulsory school age with “a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age.” | No empirical evidence of students in the United Kingdom with a history of cancer being granted access to special education and related services. | 8 June 2009 |
| United Kingdom: Scotland | Additional Support for Learning (Scotland) Act (2004) | a prescribed pre-school child, a child of school age or a young person receiving school education, provision which is additional to, or otherwise different from, the educational provision made generally for children or, as the case may be, young persons of the same age in schools (other than special schools) | |||
| United Kingdom: Wales | Special Education Needs and Disability Regulations (2014), Additional Needs Supports for Learning (Wales) Act (2018) | child of compulsory school going age or person over that age as having a “significantly greater difficulty in learning that the majority of others of the same age, or has a disability for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010 which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities for education or training of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream maintained schools or mainstream institutions in the further education sector | |||
| United Kingdom: Northern Ireland | Special Needs and Disability (Northern Ireland) Order (2005), Special Needs and Disability Act (2016) | a child has special educational needs if they have a learning difficulty, meaning, “a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children his age, he has a disability which either prevents or hinders him from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for children of his age in ordinary schools | |||
| COUNTRY | SURVIVAL RATE | ISS/DISABILITY RIGHTS LEGISLATION | POTENTIAL APPLICATION TO CHILDREN TREATED FOR CANCER | EFFECTIVENESS | RATIFICATION OF THE UN CRPD** |
| United States | 85% | Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2004), Americans with Disabilities Act (1990). | Potential qualifying special education disability category of “Other Health Impairment”: “having limited strength, vitality, or alertness, including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment that – (i) Is due to chronic or acute health problems such as asthma, attention deficit disorder, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, diabetes, epilepsy, a heart condition, hemophilia, lead poisoning, leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic fever, sickle cell anemia, and Tourette syndrome; and (ii) Adversely affects a child’s educational performance.” | Limited evidence that students in the United States with a history of cancer are being granted access to IEPs/ILPs. | Signed 30 July 2009, but never ratified |
[i] *Childhood cancer survival rate based on 5 year post-diagnosis data.
**United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities