According to the Disability Discrimination Act, 'a person has a disability if he or she has a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.'
Physical or mental impairments can include problems with sight or hearing and learning difficulties. It also covers medical conditions if they have long-term and substantial effects on pupils' everyday lives.
New laws mean schools, colleges and universities cannot treat disabled students 'less favourably' than non-disabled students. They must make 'reasonable adjustments' to ensure disabled students are not disadvantaged compared to non-disabled students.
The new laws cover school admissions, exclusions, education and associated services, including school trips and after-school clubs and activities.
The Advisory Centre for Education (ACE) are an independent national advice centre for parents offering information on disability and links to relevant legal literature.
www.ace-ed.org.uk/advice/booklets/Disability.html
