Tallinn Deputy Mayor Andrei Kante wrote to Education Minister Kristina Kallas to request information on how the transition to Estonian-language education will be organized for children with special educational needs. Concerned parents have approached the city's Education Department with this issue.

"We would like to understand how it is possible to empathetically, considerately and concretely find solutions for children with special educational needs on an individual basis," Kaarel Rundu, head of the Tallinn Education Department, told ERR.

For instance, there are questions about what will happen to preschool children who attend sessions with Russian-speaking speech therapists. If they are to continue their education in Estonian, how will they be supported to ensure their education does not suffer, Rundu inquired.

"The Estonian Association of Speech Therapists has highlighted that the supply of Estonian-speaking speech therapists is very limited. If educational institutions can no longer provide services by Estonian-speaking speech therapists in compensatory groups, should these groups be closed? How will these children receive support in the future?"

Rundu acknowledged that the Ministry of Education and Research has promised to address this issue, but the Education Department wishes for children with special needs to receive more flexible support during their transition to Estonian-language education.

Study methods and pace to be decided by the school

Regarding how a child who has been learning in Russian will continue their education from September, the decision will be made by the school, said Jürgen Rakaselg, the head of the inclusive education department at the Ministry of Education and Research. He cited the example of students with the most severe intellectual disabilities, for whom the law allows schools to choose the language of instruction.

"This by no means implies that education could permanently take place only in some other language. It cannot be said under any circumstances that there are children who are incapable of transitioning to Estonian-language instruction at all. The question is always about the extent and time frame in which this can happen. Naturally, if a child does not have speech at all, then obviously, instruction in Estonian cannot take place," Rakaselg explained.

Thus, even children with intellectual disabilities and Russian as their mother tongue are not exempt from transitioning to Estonian-language education; rather, a suitable method for each child to learn the language will be found. Rakaselg described that schools have a variety of options to support students, such as individualized, simplified curricula and support from external counseling teams.

Kaarel Rundu stated that if schools have the right to decide on the language of instruction, the Ministry of Education and Research must also ensure that if a decision is made to keep a student in Russian-language instruction, it would not lead to sanctions.

"The legislative aspect should also be regulated and established in this context, ensuring that educational institutions indeed have all the rights to make these decisions themselves. This should then provide assurance to educational institutions, children and parents that these decisions will not later become the subject of supervision or the basis for directives," Rundu said.

Hopes placed on Rajaleidja to assess study language suitability

A central issue is the involvement of the Rajaleidja network, which provides learning support for children, in the choice of language of instruction. Deputy Mayor Kante is inquiring whether a child with special needs can continue education in a language other than Estonian only if the external counseling team, namely Rajaleidja, has recommended that Estonian-language educational activities are not feasible for the child due to their development.

The Tallinn Education Department is aware of parents who have turned to Rajaleidja to obtain a recommendation and assessment on which language their child with special needs is capable of continuing their education. However, Rajaleidja has refused to provide recommendations, stating that these decisions will be made starting from September 1. According to Kaarel Rundu, this is too late, as schools need clarity now to make preparations.

"They might not be able to guarantee services that meet the needs in a timely manner. In the spring, it would still be possible to make the necessary adjustments and recruit the required support specialists," he said.

Jürgen Rakaselg from the Ministry of Education and Research explained that before the intervention of the Rajaleidja network, it is necessary for the school to adapt the curriculum based on each child with disabilities and find ways for them to continue their education at the most suitable pace.

"There are a whole range of adaptations that a school can make independently, without needing to obtain approval or recommendations from outside. Once these are made and it is clear that the education plan is not successful, then it indeed makes sense to turn to the Rajaleidja center," he said.

Rakaselg emphasized that Rajaleidja does not make decisions based on theoretical assumptions about whether a child is capable of learning in Estonian or Russian. Therefore, they wait until the start of the new school year, by which time the schools should have the educational work for children with special needs in place, and it will start to become clear what impact this has had. He added that schools do not need to wait until the last minute, September 1, but can already start preparing for the reorganization of educational work now.

Hope to circumvent having to learn in Estonian

Rakaselg pointed out that there seems to be an attempt to obtain exemptions from the transition to Estonian-language education through Rajaleidja, but this should not be expected. Advisors only provide recommendations on how to assist a specific child.

"Regrettably, the appeal from the city of Tallinn mentions that parents have obtained certificates to exempt their child from transitioning to Estonian-language education. These certificates can be important information for planning the pace and scope at which to proceed with a specific child. However, to suggest that our laws allow anyone – especially such a vulnerable target group – to be exempted from learning Estonian, the sole language of instruction in the country, seems somewhat inappropriate," Rakaselg explained.

According to Kaarel Rundu, the issue in Tallinn is not about postponing the transition to Estonian-language education but ensuring a safe learning environment for children with special needs.

"The reality is that these children need different approaches, support specialists, and the goal is to make it clear to parents what will happen with their child from September 1, in which group they will study and who their teachers will be. I do not see this as a desire or intention to escape the transition to Estonian-language education, but rather to ensure the quality of education for the children."

Rakaselg mentioned that the Ministry of Education and Research has communicated with institutions teaching children with special needs and offered its assistance, but they have been assured that they are currently managing. Plans are underway to start organizing meetings with parents.

"I understand that people have developed habits over a long period. For 30 years, we have been playing this game of supposedly transitioning to Estonian-language education, but not quite, and some backdoors have always been left open. And now that it is actually happening, it is understandable that there is hope that maybe it won't happen after all," Rakaselg said.

"But we have no reason to say that children should not transition to Estonian-language education. Science very clearly states that no one has contraindications. Even children with special needs learn Estonian, but at their own level. No one expects a student with moderate intellectual disabilities to start learning in Estonian overnight. It needs to be prepared for and done gradually, in a manner that is manageable for them."

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