Latvia - Country Background Information
- Describing the forms of education in the country
- Identifying an ‘inclusive setting’ in the country
- What an ‘official decision of SEN’ means in the country
- What ‘out-of-education’ means in the country
The EASIE data collection covers all recognised forms of education at ISCED levels 02, 1, 2 and 3.
This means any type of education organised by or approved by any recognised educational provider in the public or private sector: municipality, local or regional educational provider from the public or private sector, working with/for ministries responsible for education and areas such as health, social, welfare, labour, justice, etc.
5–18
What are the typical age ranges for the ISCED levels?
| ISCED LEVEL 02 | ISCED LEVEL 1 | ISCED LEVEL 2 | ISCED LEVEL 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.5–6 | 7–12 | 13–15 | 16–19 |
Private educational institutions implement pre-school education programmes for children from the age of 5 until they commence studies in primary education and accredited primary and general secondary education programmes. The educational institution uses the State Education Information System (VIIS) to enter and confirm the number of learners at the institution.
In the EASIE data collection, an inclusive setting is operationally defined as:
A recognised form of education where the child/learner follows education in mainstream classes alongside their peers for the largest part – 80% or more – of the school week.
The 80% time placement benchmark clearly indicates that a child/learner is educated in a mainstream class for the majority of their school week. At the same time, it acknowledges possibilities for small group or one-to-one withdrawal for limited periods of time (i.e. 20% or one day a week).
Very few participating countries can provide exact data on children/learners spending 80% of their time in a mainstream group/class. However, all countries can apply one of three agreed proxies that provide an approximation to this benchmark:
- Placement in a mainstream class implies over 80% or more
- Data is available on the number of hours of support allocated to a child/learner
- Placement in a mainstream class implies over 50% or more.
In the EASIE data collection, the agreed operational definition is:
An official decision leads to a child/learner being recognised as eligible for additional educational support to meet their learning needs.
Countries may have different types of official decision, but for all official decisions:
- There has been some form of educational assessment procedure involving different people. This procedure may involve the child/learner, parents, school-based team members, as well as professionals from multi-disciplinary teams from outside the child’s/learner’s (pre-)school.
- There is some form of legal document (plan/programme, etc.) that describes the support the child/learner is eligible to receive, which is used as the basis for decision-making.
- There is some form of regular review process of the child/learner’s needs, progress and support.
According to the Law on Education, parents can choose what kind of educational institution their child should attend – a special school, a special class or a special group in a mainstream school, or a mainstream class.
Learners with special needs can attend any educational institution their parents choose.
The prerequisites for providing education to such learners in a mainstream school are:
- Licensed special education programme
- Availability of support specialists (special education teachers, speech therapists, psychologist, etc.)
- Remedial instruction
- Smaller classes
- Appropriate assessment.
According to the Regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers, a second teacher should be provided when pupils with intellectual disabilities and severe and multiple disabilities are included in mainstream settings.
There are special education programmes for learners with visual impairments, hearing impairments, physical disabilities, language impairments, mental health disorders, learning disabilities and long-term illnesses. These include the content of the mainstream education programme but the methods of instruction, support provided and additional services differ from mainstream programmes.
If learners show considerable difficulties in mastering this curriculum and their academic achievements do not correspond to the requirements of the National Standard of Basic Education, then they are assessed by specialists (speech therapist, special education teacher, psychologist), with the parents’ consent. The school’s support team can suggest support measures and the development of an individual education plan.
General Education Law (2005–2011) para 242 states that the education institution should elaborate an individual plan for each learner with disability to acquire an education programme. Learners must be involved in the development of these plans.
If the above-mentioned measures do not work and the learner’s achievements do not improve, the learner may attend the pedagogical medical commission.
The school is responsible for providing appropriate support measures for learning.
Special educational programmes for learners with severe intellectual development disorders or several severe developmental disorders are provided for nine years. They are also implemented by drawing up an individual plan. Depending on the learner’s state of health and the possibilities of the educational institution, the education programme may be implemented over a longer period, but not longer than 12 years.
Regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 556 (adopted 19 November 2019, entered into force 1 September 2020) updates details on how to make an individual education plan.
Achievements which a learner with special needs has attained during their studies are evaluated in line with the requirements of a special educational programme and taking into account the learner’s state of health, skills and development. Acquiring a special educational programme is evaluated in the form of description for learners with moderate and severe intellectual developmental disorders (General Education Law, 2005–2011).
If learners have difficulty in the curriculum they are assessed by specialists (speech therapist, special education teacher, psychologist), with the parents’ consent. The school’s support team can suggest support measures and the development of an individual education plan. Support measures should be used during the educational process and during state tests and examinations.
Together with general schools, support centre teachers and medical staff check and diagnose children, determine their education and development problems and possible ways of special assistance, apply and develop new methodical and teaching aids, plan classes and events, develop individual curricula, consolidate information about children’s development and health conditions, organise seminars and courses for general education institution educators and parents.
If the above-mentioned measures do not work and the learner’s achievements do not improve, the learner may attend the pedagogical medical commission.
According to the Regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 709 16.10.2012, in order for a learner to receive special education provision in any kind of educational setting, the parents must request that the pedagogical medical commission assesses the child.
Before attending the commission, the learner should be assessed by a psychologist, a speech therapist and a teacher, should have a general health check-up and, if necessary, should consult other medical specialists depending on their special needs (e.g. psychiatrist, surgeon, ophthalmologist, otorhinolaryngologist). The commission prepares a recommendation as to what kind of curriculum the learner should follow. However, the parents make the final decision about the educational institution their child will attend.
There are two types of pedagogical medical commissions (PMC): the State Pedagogical Medical Commission, formed by the Ministry of Education and Science, and the Municipal Pedagogical Medical Commissions, formed by district or town municipalities. The commissions consist of different specialists: special education teachers, speech therapists, psychologists, medical specialists and social workers. They assess different aspects of the learner’s performance. Parents can file a complaint against a Municipal PMC to the State PMC.
The PMC’s competences are defined by regulations issued by the Cabinet of Ministers.
The PMC assesses learners’ abilities and analyses their health condition and level of development, as well as documents from educational institutions, doctors, notebooks, achievement sheets, etc. They also:
- recommend the most appropriate educational programme;
- recommend education at home for pupils with long-term illnesses;
- consult teachers, parents, learners and other stakeholders about issues concerning special and inclusive education.
The assessment of learners’ intellectual abilities, academic knowledge and social skills should be done before the PMC meetings. The commissions have the right to obtain information from the educational institutions about learners with special needs, such as the support measures and accommodation provided. They also have the right to follow the progress of the learner with special needs in any of the educational institutions.
The PMC can identify learning disabilities (difficulties), hearing impairments, visual impairments, physical disabilities, language impairments, intellectual disabilities, mental health disorders, severe and multiple disabilities, long-term illnesses.
There are nine special education programmes. Seven of them – for learners with visual impairments, hearing impairments, physical disabilities, language impairments, mental health disorders, learning disabilities and long-term illnesses – include the content of the mainstream education programme. The methods of instruction, support provided and additional services differ from mainstream programmes. For learners with intellectual disabilities, special programmes are available.
According to the Law on Education, parents can choose what kind of educational institution their child should attend – a special school, a special class or a special group in a mainstream school, or a mainstream class.
Within the EASIE data collection, specific questions examine children/learners who are out of education. This means children/learners who should, by law, be in some form of recognised education, but who are out of any form of recognised education. A recognised form of education is any type of education organised by or approved by any recognised educational provider in the public or private sector.
Learners of compulsory education age (5–18) who are not enrolled (registered) on the list of any educational institution of Latvia (Cabinet Regulation No. 871 of 04.08.2009). This applies to children who have not completed compulsory basic education. In Latvia, only basic education is compulsory.
The list of learners of compulsory education age (5–18) who are not enrolled in any educational institution in Latvia is created by comparing the population register data of children of compulsory education age who officially live in Latvia with the data from the State Education Information System (VIIS) about children who are of compulsory education age, have not completed basic education and are registered in schools. The data is updated quarterly. Municipalities are required to gather information about these children and report in the VIIS the reasons why these children are not registered in school. There is data from the Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia on early school leavers aged 18–24 who are not in education.
Children who have emigrated with their families are mostly enrolled in schools in another country. Therefore, they are not considered out-of-school (OoS) learners (but the definition does not exclude these children from the total number).
Children with another citizenship who have a residence permit in Latvia but who are studying in their home country are counted as OoS learners.
Only basic education is mandatory in Latvia. Therefore, data on children with basic education who do not continue secondary education or who drop out of secondary education institutions is not collected or analysed.
Local governments often have problems with data collection on why a child has not been enrolled in school. This is because there are families who change residences often, families who do not live in their declared location and families who leave the country without informing anyone.