The education of persons with SEDN and SEN is regulated by a number of legal acts, including the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia (Everyone shall have the right to education), the Law of the Republic of Armenia on Education, the Law of the Republic of Armenia on General Education, the Law of the Republic of Armenia on Preschool Education, the Procedure for the Provision of Pedagogical-Psychological Support Services for the Organization of Education, the Provision of Pedagogical-Psychological Support Services for the Organization of Education and Development of Children 0-6 Years Old, numerous decisions and programs of the Government of the Republic of Armenia. The Legislation on the education of persons with SEDN and SEN also includes the Family Code, the RA Laws “On the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”, and “On the Rights of the Child”, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and other legal acts.
For students registered in educational institutions implementing general education programs who are unable to attend an educational institution due to their health condition or treatment, education is carried out at home or in a hospital (including abroad) in accordance with the procedure established by the authorized body for state education (Order N 31-N of the Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports the Republic of Armenia dated August 29, 2022, on Establishing the Procedure for Home-Based Education of Students). The list of diseases that entitle students to home-based education has been established by the Government of the Republic of Armenia by Decision N 1330-N of the RA Government dated November 19, 2015.
According to Part 5 of Article 16 of the RA Law on General Education, the parent is responsible for enrolling a school-age child in an educational institution in accordance with the procedure established by the Law.
Failure or improper fulfillment of this duty related to the upbringing, education and care of a child by a parent, legal representative or other person shall entail the imposition of a fine amounting to thirty times the established minimum wage, i.e. 30,000 AMD (Part 1 of Article 178 of the RA Code on Administrative Offenses).
Assessment of special educational and developmental needs is carried out in different preschool age groups if difficulties related to the educational process have been found in the child.
Assessment of special educational needs is carried out if difficulties related to learning have been found in the educational process.
A child with special educational and developmental needs has difficulties with the educational process because of speech and language, communication, hearing, vision, intellectual (mental), emotional, behavioral, mobility, and other problems, as well as a student with exceptional abilities (gifted), who requires special educational conditions, including reasonable adaptations, to master the basic preschool educational programs.
A student with special educational needs has learning difficulties due to speech and language, communication, hearing, vision, intelligence (mental), emotional, behavioral, mobility, and other problems, as well as a student with exceptional abilities, who requires special educational conditions, including reasonable adaptations, to master basic general educational programs.
Assessing the child’s special educational and developmental needs is the observation of the child’s participation in preschool educational programs, the identification of the child’s development opportunities, and the determining special conditions necessary for education and development.
Assessing the student’s special educational needs involves observing the student’s participation in educational programs, identifying the student’s development opportunities, and determining the special educational conditions necessary for education.
In order to determine the special educational and developmental needs necessary for the child to master preschool educational (basic) programs, including reasonable adaptations, an assessment of the child’s special educational and developmental needs is carried out by the Territorial Pedagogical-Psychological Support Center.
In order to determine the special educational needs, including reasonable adaptations, necessary for the student to master the basic general educational programs, an assessment of the student’s special educational needs is carried out by the Territorial Pedagogical-Psychological Support Center.
A regular assessment of a student’s special educational needs is carried out at the end of the academic year preceding the transition to each educational level or at the beginning of the given academic year (in the first, fifth, and tenth grades) if the need to determine new special educational conditions for the student has not arisen before then.
The assessment of the child’s SEDN is carried out in three stages:
1) Stage 1: Assessment of the child’s educational programs;
2) Stage 2: Identification and assessment of the child’s development opportunities;
3) Stage 3: Determination of special educational and developmental needs.
The assessment of a student’s SEN is carried out in three stages:
1) Stage 1: Observation of the student’s participation in educational programs;
2) Stage 2: Identification and assessment of the student’s development opportunities;
3) Stage 3: Determination of special educational needs.
After the completion of the three stages of the SEDN and SEN assessment, the Territorial Pedagogical-Psychological Support Center compiles a report and issues a conclusion on the SEDN and SEN conditions of the child and the student.
The SEDN and SEN assessment takes 5 to 25 working days.
By the order of the director of the Territorial Pedagogical-Psychological Support Center, a group of pedagogical workers (group of assessment specialists) is formed to assess the SEDN of a given child or the SEN of the student. The group of assessment specialists includes at least two educators (special educator and social educator) and one psychologist from the Territorial Pedagogical-Psychological Support Center. Other educators and specialists may also be involved in the group of assessment specialists, if necessary.
In case of disagreement with the conclusion issued by the Territorial Pedagogical-Psychological Support Center regarding the assessment of SEDN and SEN, the parent or legal representative of the child or the student may file a written appeal to the Republican Pedagogical-Psychological Center within 5 working days of receiving the conclusion.
Yes. The assessment of the child’s special educational needs is carried out exclusively free of charge.
The Republican Pedagogical-Psychological Center organizes and implements training sessions and provides professional consultation, including through a special school-resource center.
Educational institutions, special school-resource centers, or Territorial Pedagogical-Psychological Support Centers can submit an application for consultation to the Republican Pedagogical-Psychological Center, indicating the topic of the necessary consultation. After receiving the application, specialists from the Republican Pedagogical-Psychological Center contact the applicant to agree on the day and time of the consultation.
Individuals and organizations dealing with child education and development issues can contact the Republican Pedagogical-Psychological Center, presenting the questions they are interested in or the topic of the necessary consultation.
The Republican Pedagogical-Psychological Center regularly organizes and conducts training courses and seminars for various specialists, and in order to participate in them it is necessary to follow the announcements posted on the official website of the Republican Pedagogical-Psychological Center and social platforms.
The Individual Educational and Development Plan is a document drawn up based on the child’s needs and characteristics, which outlines the annual goals, objectives, and activities for the child’s development, education, and upbringing (including support services, if necessary) and timelines for achieving them, in order to make the state standards of preschool education and the defined outcomes of educational programs accessible to the child.
The Individual Educational Plan is a document drawn up based on state and subject standards and programs of general education, as well as the child’s special educational needs. It defines the annual goal, objectives, and actions to achieve the student’s education (including support services).
An IEDP or IEP is developed only when the preschool child has been assessed and recognized as having special educational and developmental needs (SEDN), and the schoolchildren – special educational needs (SEN).
After the lessons, pedagogical-psychological support services outlined in the Individual Educational Plan are provided to children at the educational institution, and upon application from the parent or legal representative, also at the Territorial Pedagogical-Psychological Support Center.
If there are no specialists providing appropriate services in the educational institution, relevant specialists are invited from the Territorial Pedagogical-Psychological Support Center serving the institution.
If the service provided to children requires an appropriate adapted place, equipment, and property, with the parent’s consent the Territorial Pedagogical-Psychological Support Center may provide the support services outlined in the Individual Educational Plan (IEP) at TPPSC. The support service provided to children in the Territorial Pedagogical-Psychological Support Center is free of charge, after classes, and according to the planned duration and scope.
The development of an IEDP is a collaborative process involving the student, the parent or legal representative of the student, the educator of the given group of the preschool educational institution, the assistant educator, the music teacher, the physical education teacher, the methodologist, other pedagogical workers and the nurse.
The development of an IEP is also a collaborative process involving the student, the parent or legal representative of the student, the teachers of the student and the specialists providing pedagogical-psychological support.
The IEDP and IEP are developed for one academic year.
The Republican Pedagogical-Psychological Center provides support to children aged 3-6 who have not been assessed by the Territorial Pedagogical-Psychological Support Center and do not receive appropriate support services.
In order to receive support services, the following documents must be submitted:
- child’s birth certificate and the copy;
- parent’s or the legal representative’s passport and the copy (the document confirming guardianship of the legal representative);
- application form completed by the parent or legal representative.
The “Contract for Providing Support Services” with the Republican Pedagogical-Psychological Center is signed for 5 months.
The Republican Pedagogical-Psychological Center provides services from psychologists, social pedagogues, special educators, and speech therapists, as well as alternative therapies such as dance therapy, clay therapy, physical therapy, and drama therapy.
The Republican Pedagogical-Psychological Center carries out the development of adapted educational materials, as well as methodological, pedagogical-psychological manuals, and guidelines.
For the first and second grades of elementary school the following materials have already been developed: “Native Language 1” (pre-alphabetic, alphabetic, and reading period), “Mathematics 1”, “Mathematics 2”, “Art 1”, “Art 2”, “Technology 1”, “Technology 2”, “Me and My Environment 2”, as well as “My Homeland 5” workbooks and corresponding teacher’s methodical manuals for the fifth grade of middle school. The development of the materials is an ongoing process, and it follows the sequence and continuity of general education school.
The beneficiaries of adapted educational materials are students, teachers, and parents. The workbooks include standard and curriculum requirements, which is an essential prerequisite for a student with special educational needs to acquire standard-based competencies and content material in a more accessible and adapted manner.
Printed workbooks are given to Territorial Pedagogical-Psychological Support Centers, which then distribute them to schools as needed. Due to the limited number of copies, not all students can have workbooks. However, all materials developed by RPPC are available to everyone in the “Publications” section of the RPPC website. Therefore, these materials can be printed and used for the learning process. Workbooks are not for sale.
The Republican Pedagogical-Psychological Center has developed and continues to implement the development of manuals and guidelines related to methodological, pedagogical, special and social pedagogy, speech therapy, psychology and occupational therapy, which are also available on the website of the Republican Pedagogical-Psychological Center.