Schools must not exclude autistic pupils rules court

SCHOOLS will no longer be allowed to exclude aggressive autistic children unless they can prove their actions are “proportionate”, after a senior judge ruled that it breached human rights.

Judge Alison Rowley said that children with disabilities were discriminated against under equality laws that allowed schools to exclude them for “challenging behaviour”.

She said it was “repugnant” to consider such behaviour as “criminal or anti-social” when it was a direct result of a child’s condition and “not a choice”.

The Upper Tribunal, which has an equivalent status to the High Court, heard that its ruling would affect “tens of thousands” of children with conditions including autism and ADHD.

Under the Equality Act 2010, schools must make “reasonable adjustments” to accommodate children with disabilities. But it states that if a child’s condition means that they have a “tendency to physical abuse” they are no longer protected by the law. The National Autistic Society (NAS) said that schools had been using the exemption as a “loophole” to expel or suspend children with learning difficulties.

However, the judge said yesterday that this was unlawful and incompatible with human rights laws.

Ruling in favour of a 13-year-old boy with autism, who was excluded from school for aggressive behaviour, the judge said schools could still exclude children if they could demonstrate that it was “proportionate” to do so.

The boy’s parents, who challenged his exclusion by bringing a case against the Education Secretary, said they were “delighted” by the ruling. They said: “We have always believed passionately that our son and other children in his position should have equal rights.”