Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act to amend Part 4 of the Education Act 1996; to make further provision against discrimination, on grounds of disability, in schools and other educational establishments; and for connected purposes. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 2001 c. 10 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 11 May 2001 |
Status: Amended | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Revised text of statute as amended | |
The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 (c. 10), also known as SENDA, is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Background
[edit]The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 had specifically excluded educational institutions.[1]
Provisions
[edit]The act required schools, colleges, universities, adult education providers, statutory youth service and local education authorities to make 'reasonable provisions' to ensure people with disabilities or special needs were provided with the same opportunities as those who were not disabled.[1][2]
The act stated that discrimination occurred when the educational establishment/body either fails to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate individuals with special needs or a disability, or when they give them less favourable treatment.[3]
The act required educational establishments to make physical modifications to buildings in order to improve accessibility from 2003.[4]
Further developments
[edit]The Equality Act 2010 extended the act to encompass neglected indirect discrimination.[5]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Davies, Mark (1 March 2003). "The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001--The implications for higher education". Education and the Law. doi:10.1080/0953996032000116385.
- ^ Debenham, Lucy (31 October 2008). "The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act". About Learning Disabilities. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
- ^ "SENDA brief guidelines for lecturers and teachers" (PDF). Edinburgh: Heriot-Watt University. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
- ^ Adams-Spink, Geoff (24 September 2003). "New rights for disabled students". BBC News. Archived from the original on 26 September 2003. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
- ^ Droutsas, Nikolaos; Spyridonis, Fotios; Daylamani-Zad, Damon; Ghinea, Gheorghita (1 March 2025). "Web accessibility barriers and their cross-disability impact in eSystems: A scoping review". Computer Standards & Interfaces. 92 103923. doi:10.1016/j.csi.2024.103923. ISSN 0920-5489.
