Inclusive education

Some Lithuanian educational institutions have been applying the principles of inclusive education for more than several decades, and since September 2024, an amendment to the Law on Education came into force to lay down that children with special educational needs must be admitted by all schools and kindergartens if their parents, after consulting with specialists, decide that attending a general education institution is the best solution for the child.

90 percent of children with special educational needs are educated in general education institutions together with their peers. In total, they account for about 15 percent of all students in mainstream schools. 

Educational institutions provide the necessary educational assistance to students based on their identified educational needs. Consultations on the provision of educational assistance, methods and means of teaching, adaptation of the environment and on the ensuring of other individual needs of students are provided to schools and kindergartens by regional special education centres and national consultation centres. 

General education, some vocational training and other programs can be adapted to students with special educational needs as appropriate. Students with special educational needs may complete formal education programs within a period time that is shorter or longer than that prescribed, they may study with breaks, and the programs may be completed in separate modules.