More than 300 participants representing 92 governments and 25 international organizations met in Salamanca, Spain, from 7 to 10 June 1994 to further the objective of Education for All by considering the fundamental policy shifts required to promote the approach of inclusive education. 

This conference was organized by the Government of spain in co-operation with UNESCO. 

The future is not fated, but will be fashioned by our values, thoughts and actions.
- Federico Mayor 

The Salamanca statement - on Principles, Policy and Practice in special needs education 

The following statements has been made in this document - 

• It reaffirmed the commitment of different governments and international organizations towards Education for All, recognizing the necessity and urgency of providing education for children, youth and adults with special educational needs within the regular education system. 

• It believes and proclaimed that - 

  • Every child has a fundamental right to education. 

  • Education systems should be designed and implemented to take into account the wide diversity of characteristics and learning needs of every child.

  • Those with special educational needs must have access to regular schools which are capable of meeting these needs. 

• It urged governments to - 

  • adopt as a matter of law or policy the principle of inclusive education. 

  • give the highest policy and budgetary priority to improve their education systems towards inclusive education.

  • encourage the participation of parents, communities and organization of persons with disabilities in the planning and decision-making processes concerning special educational needs.

  • ensure that teacher education programmes address the provision of special needs education in inclusive schools. 

• It urged - 

  • Government with international funding agencies - 

    • to support the development of special needs education as an integral part of all education programmes.

  • The United Nations and its agencies like WHO, UNESCO and UNICEF - 

    • to reinforce their cooperation and networking for more efficient support to the expanded and integrated provision of special needs education. 

  • Non-Governmental Organizations - 

    • to strengthen their collaboration with the official national bodies and to intensify their involvement in planning, implementation and evaluation of special educational needs. 

  • UNESCO - 

    • to ensure that special needs education forms part of every discussion dealing with education for all in various forums 

    • to support the matters related to enhancing teacher education regarding special educational needs. 

    • to mobilize funds for inclusive schools and community support programmes. 

• Finally, it appreciated the Government of Spain and UNESCO for the organization of the conference and waged them to make every effort to bring this Statement and the Framework for Action to the attention of the world community. 

Framework for Action on special needs education

The purpose of this framework for action is to inform policy and guide action by government, international organizations, NGOs and other bodies in implementing the Salamanca Statement. 

Special needs education assumes that human differences are normal and that learning must accordingly be adapted to the needs of the child. 

This framework for Action comprises the following sections - 

• New thinking in special needs education 

• Guidelines for action at the national level 

• Guidelines for action at the regional and international level. 

New thinking in special needs education - 

• The fundamental principle of the inclusive school is that all children should learn together. 

• Inclusive schooling is the most effective means for building solidarity between children with special needs and their peers. 

• A concerted effort is required to teach literacy, numeracy and basic skills to persons with disabilities through adult education programmes. 

• Special efforts should be made to encourage the participation of girls and women with disabilities in educational programmes. 

Guidelines for action at the national level - 

• Educational policies at all levels should stipulate that a child with a disability should attend the neighbourhood school. 

• Curriculum should be adapted to children's needs, not vice-versa.

• The educational team, rather than the individual teacher should share the responsibility for the education of special needs children. 

• The skills required to respond to special educational needs should be taken into account during assessment of studies and teacher certification. 

• Support to ordinary schools could be provided by both teacher-education institutions and by the staff of special schools. 

• The success of the inclusive school depends considerably on early identification, assessment and stimulation of the very young child with special educational needs. 

• A positive attitude on the part of parents favours school and social integration. 

• In the generalization of inclusive education, the level of support and expertise will have to be matched to the nature of the demand.

Guidelines for action at the regional and international level - 

• One important task for international cooperation is to support the launching of pilot projects aimed at trying out new approaches and at capacity building. 

• A priority mission incumbent upon international organizations is to facilitate exchange of data, information and results of pilot programmes in special needs education between countries and regions.

This framework for Action is intended to guide Member States and governmental and non-governmental organizations in implementing the Salamanca statement on Principles, Policy and Practice in Special Needs Education.