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related to the integration of people with disabilities within the university, and to provide services such as study support
(sign language interpretation, communication facilitation, note taking, etc.), tutoring, counselling and job placement.
INNOVATION
In general, the Law reflected a shift in legislative thinking from a strictly medical model perspective on disability to a
social and human rights model, and made a significant contribution to a culture of inclusion, even though it remains
enshrined in a construction of the notion of disability in terms of deficit. Evidence demonstrates (see output) that
inclusive education in Italy is not simply required by law, but is also being implemented throughout the country (even
though to a certain extent inconsistent) amounting to nothing less than a ‘cultural revolution’ in the way disability is
viewed. In the field of inclusive education of pupils with disabilities, the Law’s innovative aspects include: the creation of
a new professional figure for learning support (support teacher), the combination of clinical diagnosis, dynamic profile
and tailored education plan to determine the personal potential of the pupil, as well as the broad cross-sectorial
participation and cooperation of all stakeholders (local education authorities, local health units, etc.) in school councils,
paving the way for the experimentation of new approaches to teaching and learning (such as team teaching and
cooperative learning) with actions to be taken in all grades of schools (from infant schools to universities) and all sectors
of society (from training centers to employment settings). Italy’s ongoing practice of inclusive education has
restructured the education system at all levels and some of the most notable changes include: extending the age to
which compulsory, free education was required for all students; lowering the limits on class sizes for inclusive
classrooms; revamping the curriculum; developing new procedures for recruiting and training new teachers; improving
pre-primary and continuing education requirements; and implementing a system of national evaluations of all regions
and schools.
FACTS ON O UTPUT (WITH ADDITIONS FROM THE ZERO PROJECT TEAM)
 In 1992, approximately 40,000 students with disabilities were in special schools or classes at primary school level. In
2010/11, approximately 189,563 students with special needs attended primary and secondary schools (of which
10,554 at private schools; a ratio of 2.3% of the overall school population), and 20,739 children with special needs
attended in mainstream pre-primary education. Making steady impressive gains, the 2010 update from the
European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education indicates that the number of students with special
needs in Italy being educated in segregated settings was less than 1%.
 In 2009/10, the number of support teachers reached almost 90,000 units. 32.7 per cent of students had a support
teacher, whose work was valued fairly positively by the students concerned: the average satisfaction rating was 3.8
(rated on a scale of one to five, with one as the minimum).
 A survey of 2003/2004 on 40,383 schools revealed that 30.7 percent of state schools had accessible toilets, 29.7 per
cent had doors that met accessibility requirements and 20.3 per cent had lifts or stair lifts.
 Another impressive statistic is the dramatic increase in enrolment of students with disabilities in university, which
rose from 4,813 students in 2000-01 to 15,884 students enrolled at state universities within only 8 years.