The Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004, is often known as the EPSEN act and provides for the education of children aged under 18 years with special educational needs.
The purpose of the review is to ensure that legislation on education for students with additional needs is up-to-date, fully operational, and reflective of the lived experiences of students, families and school communities. The review will help us to understand what aspects of the law is working well and whether aspects of it should be amended.
To achieve this, the Department is seeking your assistance by asking all member of our community to complete a survey at this link (www.gov.ie/epsenreview). The Department especially wants to hear from students and their parents, and from young people who left school in recent years.
The Department is committed to ensuring that the views of persons with disabilities are fully considered in policy making. It will also hold focus groups with parents and students over the coming months.
When the survey process is completed, the Department will produce a consultation paper. If you would like to be invited to a consultation event, please contact the Department on epsen@education.gov.ie.