“No, pupils with disabilities are not a bargaining chip. No, the MR-Engagés majority is not cutting the €9 million budget dedicated to pupils with sensory-motor disabilities.” As MR MP in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation and member of the Education Committee, Stéphanie Cortisse sets the record straight on an issue plagued by many lies spread by the PS.
What are we talking about here? A decree passed in 2021 under the previous socialist Minister Caroline Désir, the decree of 17 June 2021 “establishing territorial hubs responsible for supporting mainstream schools in implementing reasonable accommodations and full permanent integration”. A decree that was the subject of appeals before the Constitutional Court, which annulled several of its provisions as discriminatory. Two appeals had been brought: the first by the General Secretariat of Catholic Education (SeGEC), which considered that the Wallonia-Brussels Education network (WBE) was favoured over other networks. SeGEC won its case. The second was brought by the non-profit Inclusion, which considered it discriminatory that additional resources, a specific budget of €9 million, were intended solely for pupils with sensory-motor disabilities and not for other types of disability, such as intellectual disability. The Constitutional Court ruled in its favour.
“What nerve of the PS to now claim that it is the current majority that no longer wants to dedicate this specific budget to these pupils who need it. It is indeed the Judiciary, the Constitutional Court, which in ruling 85/2023 of 1 June 2023 found that this decretal provision, from a socialist minister, violated Articles 10 and 11 of the Constitution, which guarantee the principle of equality and non-discrimination,” explains liberal MP Stéphanie Cortisse. The Court ruled that the distinction between pupils with sensory-motor disabilities and intellectual disabilities cannot be justified. It states that the Legislator cannot treat pupils differently depending on their disability. The Court therefore annuls the relevant provisions of the decree. However, it maintained their effects until the end of the 2025-2026 school year, to give the Legislator time to adopt new provisions.
The PS's draft decree is merely an attempt to short-circuit the Government's work in order to spread misleading and populist messaging on social media.
As Education Minister Valérie Glatigny has confirmed, this budget will not be scrapped. Several options are being examined within the Government to determine how to legally allocate this budget from next year.
“We want pupils with particularly significant needs, such as those with sensory-motor needs, to receive the support and assistance that are essential and vital to them, while respecting the principle of equal treatment reaffirmed by the Constitutional Court,” concludes Stéphanie Cortisse.