Young people with disabilities forced to leave school too soon:report

Young people with a disability such as Down's syndrome are forced to leave school at age 18 in some regions of the Netherlands, while they are legally entitled to education until they are 20, according to a study by Reporter Radio. Special education schools stress that continuing education is crucial for these young people's development, NRC reports.

While young people with disabilities have the right to education until they are 20, they must get permission from the umbrella organization of school boards to stay in school after the age of 18. Such requests are often rejected because the young people in question go into day care facilities, according to Reporter Radio. The researchers were told that continuing education "has no added value" if the person in question goes to day care.

Schools in special education stress that continuing education is crucial for the development of young people. But getting permission to keep them in school is becoming increasingly difficult. The schools believe that this creates an inequality in opportunities compared to these young people's typical peers, which is discrimination, according to NRC.