ROMANIA DISCRIMINATED. How the state discourages you from enrolling your child in kindergarten when he needs more involvement and attention

Through the story of a family from Bucharest, a wider problem can be glimpsed: even state officials draw attention to the way in which children with special educational needs are treated, for example those who suffer from ADHD.

Ionela Dinu has a 7-year-old child and, until December 2023, she ensured his private education. The child is diagnosed with ADHD and ASD (autism spectrum disorder). Ionela says that, until now, private was their option, they thought it was better for the child’s development.

This year they decided to enroll their child in state kindergarten. The reason? There were fewer and fewer children the age of Ionela’s child. He had fewer peers.

“Tell him to come to 271”

Ionela initially tried to find a free place at a kindergarten in Sector 6 because that is where she lives.

He was told there was no vacancy. He decided to contact the representatives of the School Inspectorate of the Municipality of Bucharest (ISMB). After several calls, he was able to speak to an official.

“He suggested that I take the neighboring inspectorates in line to ask if they have places. On January 26, I called the Sector 5 Inspectorate and this is where the story begins. While I was talking with the inspector, a voice was heard: «Tell her to come to 271». I was informed that I have to contact Mrs. Tudor, director of kindergarten 271, to schedule a meeting at the kindergarten, for enrollment”, Ionela Dinu tells HotNews.ro.

“Plan” in children

Three days later, Ionela called the kindergarten. The attitude of the director of Kindergarten 271 was “benevolent”, the mother describes her. Until the moment he found out the diagnosis that Ionela’s child has.

“Initially, Principal Tudor seemed very excited that she would have an extra child enrolled. He cannot make his plan if he does not have a minimum number of children”, recalls the mother.

“The lady completely changed her attitude, disappointed that I didn’t mention the child’s diagnosis from the first moment, that is, from the discussion with the inspector. He started telling me that he can’t force the teacher to accept him, that he already has two children with SEN (children with special educational needs). He also said that in general children with CES are a problem because of which last year he risked not being able to «make his plan», because the other parents refused to enroll their children if they still enroll those with CES”, claims Ionela Dinu .

“My hopes of getting it are nil”

A few days later, the mother again went to kindergarten 271. She says she was met by a committee. The director of the kindergarten, the counselor and the educator of the group where the 7-year-old should have been enrolled came.

“The discussion with the three initially focused on the child’s diagnosis and academic acquisitions, I assured them that I offer all the necessary support (including a companion if required), after which it turned to the CES certificate, insisting on its necessity. We did not have it present, but we assured them that we would get it as soon as possible if it was so important. In addition to the explanations that the CES certificate gives them a “coverage” regarding the number of children reduced to the group (a CES child occupies 2 places), there were also comments that there are many parents who refuse the CES for various reasons and that this it complicates the management of the kindergarten”, explains Ionela.

The discussion got complicated “when Mrs. Tudor had the curiosity to check the CNP of the child in the SIIIR (n. ed.: Integrated Information System of Romanian Education) and discovered that he was still registered at the former kindergarten”. “This even though we had terminated the contract. She informed me that she cannot make a transfer under any circumstances, that she is not allowed to “walk” in SIIIR”, explains the child’s mother.

“He replied that he was sorry, that he had never refused a child before and that we were the first”

Ionela says that she explained that the bureaucratic problem of registering the child in SIIIR can be solved with a single phone call to the former kindergarten. She claims that, then, those from kindergarten 271 argued, again, that the educator cannot be forced to accept the child’s enrollment.

The director of kindergarten 271 allegedly told Ionela that this is the first time she refuses to enroll a child and that she is “sorry”.

“He repeated to me that he didn’t know what to tell me, to go get the child’s CES certificate and come back after I have him to ask about enrollment, diverting the discussion to other stories of the autistic children he has in kindergarten. I asked her directly if she welcomes us or not and she replied that she was sorry, that she could not oblige the educator”, says Ionela.

The response to notifications: “There is no transfer request registered in the unit”

After the experience she had at the kindergarten in Sector 5, Ionela Dinu reported to the School Inspectorate of the Municipality of Bucharest (ISMB).

“We were refused the child’s enrollment in the large group at State Kindergarten no. 271, Bucharest, sector 5, street Eroii Sanitari no. 77, by Ms. director of the unit, although it had enough places (2), because the child is diagnosed with ADHD and ASD, without currently holding the CES certificate and reasoning that he cannot oblige Ms. his teachers accept him in the group. Please take the necessary legal measures in this situation and give us an answer regarding the result of the investigation”, says the report made by Ionela Dinu.

The response that came after the notification was: “there is no transfer request registered in the unit”.

“In order to carry out the transfer, we recommend that you contact the unit to which you wish to transfer your child”, reads the reply sent on February 29 to Ionela Dinu, signed by the general school inspector from Bucharest Vlad Valentin Drinceanu.

“He doesn’t even care what happened there,” concludes the child’s mother.

Contacted by HotNews.ro, ISMB spokeswoman Elena Ștefan gave the same answer that Ionela Dinu received: there is no request to enroll the child at the kindergarten in question. In the absence of this request, it is the word of the child’s mother against the word of the director of kindergarten 271.

HotNews.ro also tried to get in touch with the management of kindergarten 271 in Sector 5 of the Capital, but when we called the secretariat of the educational unit, we were told that the director was not in the institution and to come back another day. I returned, but without success.

CNCD President: “Complaints of this type have increased in recent years”

The President of the National Council for Combating Discrimination (CNCD), Csaba Asztalos, says that in previous years there were cases where parents showed up at school and wanted to enroll their child, and when it was found out that he had CES they said no more there are places and, subsequently, places were found for another child who did not have CES or a disability.

CNCD registered, in 2022, 56 petitions that had as their subject access to education. A year ago, there were 41 such referrals, and in 2020 their number was 69, according to the institution’s 2022 activity report.

“From my point of view, it’s not a problem from a legislative point of view, it’s a problem of law enforcement and, ultimately, of education, of training those in kindergarten, in the pre-university system, in education. Those entities, whether it’s a kindergarten or a school, which have enrolled CES or disabled children, need resources, because often an additional resource is needed: support teacher, psychologist and so on to ensure access to education for these children”, the CNCD president explained to HotNews.ro.

What parents must do in such cases

Csaba Asztalos says that it is very important that parents facing such situations make written requests to the schools, in order to have proof of the refusal.

“They have to be very firm with the kindergarten or school when they encounter such refusals. To formalize the relationship with the kindergarten or school, i.e. leave in writing when they want to enroll their child, not just talk to a representative who tells them there is no place or they don’t want to enroll them. Then, to inform the inspectorate, CNCD, the Ministry of Education, because children have the right to education and you can’t exclude them from society due to ignorance or maybe even lack of resources”, said the president of CNCD.

He pointed out that schools, whether public or private, cannot refuse to enroll children, depending on the conditions they have.

“Often these children are bullied and then they react. If they react afterwards they are accused of being violent, so a vicious circle develops in cases like this”.

“But in any situation where there is no recommendation by a specialist committee for a child to attend a special school, that is, that exception, any child with SEN or a disability has the right to be enrolled in a kindergarten or public school or private. I mention that the same rules also apply to private schools,” Csaba Asztalos said.

Also in the CNCD report for 2022, it is stated that such cases also occur due to the poor training of teachers.

“Discrimination of children with disabilities in education was a problem due to a lack of adequate teacher training on the inclusion of children with disabilities and a lack of investment to make schools accessible,” according to the report.

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