7. LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS The Education Act nr. 561/2004 Sb. on Pre-school, Basic, Secondary, Tertiary, Professional and Other Education is the current law that governs the education of all children including those with EBD. Section 16 of this act gives the basis to the education of children, pupils and students with special educational needs. According to section 16, a child, pupil or student having special educational needs is a disabled person, or a person disadvantaged in terms of health condition or social position. Children with EBD may fall into two of the categories, i.e. children with disabilities or children disadvantaged in terms of social position. The categories of disabilities listed in section 16 are the following: mental, physical, visual or auditory disability, language deficiency concurrent with more deficiencies, autism and development deficiency in learning or behavior. On the other hand disadvantage in terms of social position means: a) A family environment with a low social and cultural status, threat of pathological social phenomena; As it is evident from the above, children with EBD are directly listed in the categories of individuals with disabilities as a group with development deficiency in behavior. Some children with autism, but without mental retardation may be served by professionals and institutions for EBD as the main challenge for these individuals is social interaction, communication, and stereotypical behavior. Many individuals with development deficiency in behavior also fulfill the criteria for disadvantage in terms of social position as defined above. |