Promotion of Special Education Teachers' Treatment Improvement... Establishment of Regional Children's Rehabilitation Hospitals

Decision to Conduct Survey for Hiring Special Education Teachers
Expansion of Support for Childcare Services for Children with Disabilities

On the 12th, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye held the 8th Social Relations Ministers' Meeting via video conference with related ministries at the Government Sejong Complex and the Government Seoul Complex to discuss the 'Comprehensive Support Measures for Children with Disabilities' and other topics.

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The government is preparing incentives such as improved treatment to address the shortage of special education teachers in kindergartens and daycare centers. Regional public children's rehabilitation hospitals will also be established for children with disabilities.

On the 12th, the Ministry of Education held the 8th Social Relations Ministers' Meeting via video conference with related ministries at the Government Sejong Complex and Government Seoul Complex to discuss the "Comprehensive Measures to Support Children with Disabilities."

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye said, "The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Welfare will strive to recruit special education teachers," adding, "We will conduct a survey on the supply and demand of special education teachers and promote the improvement of treatment for special education teachers at daycare centers so that all children with disabilities attending kindergartens and daycare centers can receive high-quality special education."

The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, jointly with related ministries, will conduct a survey on the status of special education teachers and prepare measures to improve the treatment of special education teachers at daycare centers based on the results. Related regulations will be revised to recognize daycare center experience as seniority when appointed as kindergarten special education teachers. Plans will also be made to support special education teachers in kindergartens without special classes to expand itinerant education.

Regional public children's rehabilitation hospitals will be established to provide specialized rehabilitation treatment in residents' local areas. The government is currently promoting the construction of two rehabilitation hospitals in the Gyeongnam and Chungnam regions and rehabilitation medical centers in eight locations including Gangwon and Chungbuk regions.

To enable children with disabilities attending daycare centers to receive special education diagnosis and evaluation, active guidance will be provided to daycare centers and parents. To detect disabilities early, information from infant health checkups and the early detection system for at-risk children will be linked to strengthen guidance for those who missed checkups, and the examination items will be subdivided.

To address care gaps, improvement measures such as expanding the support targets of the "Disability Family Childcare Support Service" and extending care hours will be prepared. To link early disability detection with education, care, welfare, and medical services, regional support centers for children with disabilities will be established and operated. Art instructors and disability sports instructors will be dispatched to facilities related to children with disabilities to support cultural and sports activities.

On this day, the government also reviewed the progress of family support and child and youth protection measures. They will identify out-of-home youth with school police officers and provide social safety net services that offer shelter, education, and employment support.

Regulations will be introduced to exempt child abuse response personnel from civil, criminal, and disciplinary liability if there is no intentional or gross negligence, enabling them to take active measures on-site. Support coordinators for independence will be expanded and dedicated personnel increased for children who have aged out of protection and youth who have left shelters.

To prevent repeated school violence, the status of recurrence of perpetrator behavior will be regularly investigated annually, and measures against students who commit school violence again will be strengthened. Grounds for concurrent and aggravated measures against students who reoffend in school violence will be prepared.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.