“You won’t let him go to school”: Parents and child file suit, claiming their “human rights were violated” during consultation on school enrollment for disabled child

Extract from bengo4.com via Yahoo! Japan

September 17 2024

Amagasaki City, Hyogo Pref – On September 17th, two parents and their children in Amagasaki City, Hyogo Prefecture, filed a human rights complaint with the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, claiming that their opinions and those of their guardians were not respected and were harmed during school counseling sessions for their children with disabilities.

The parents and children allege that they wished to study in regular classes at public elementary and junior high schools, but were not accepted by the local public schools and the Board of Education, and that they were further subjected to human rights violations in which their wishes were denied by the parents and children, who were subjected to hurtful words during the consultation.

According to attorney Yui Yanagihara, who assisted the parents and the children, this is the first time a petition for human rights relief regarding school attendance approval has been filed. Through this petition, the lawyers will ask the city and the national government to establish a system that, in principle, allows children to attend local schools regardless of whether or not they have a disability.

According to the lawyers, under the current system, municipal boards of education are required to “respect the opinions of the child and his/her guardians to the maximum extent possible” regarding the enrollment of children with disabilities. In reality, however, they argue, such a system has not been implemented, and the “right to an inclusive education,” in which children learn together with other children, has been denied, affecting their career paths.