Sample Solution

The outcome of the relaxation of the meaning of disability is that more children with SEN are now legally being treated as disabled. Under EA 2010, every public authority, including educational institutions are required to publish necessary Equalities Policy information and the school should take into account the following protected characteristics;

• Sex (gender)
• Disability
• Maternity and pregnancy
• Race (ethnicity)
• Sexual Orientation
• Religion and belief
• Gender Reassignment

The EA 2010 expands the meaning of discrimination. In the earlier Acts, there existed two varieties of disability discrimination. These were;

• For a reason connected to their disability without justification, treating a disabled pupil or prospective pupil less favourably than another disabled person.
• Not taking any adequate steps to avoid placing disabled pupils at a considerable drawback contrasted to non-disabled children.

Under EA (2010), the meaning of unlawful discrimination has not been changed in a major way but there is new terminology to explain discrimination;

• Direct discrimination: when a student is treated less favourably than another student due to a protected trait.
• Indirect discrimination: apply for a criterion, provision or practice in the same manner for a group of pupils but, which has the impact of putting students sharing safeguarded traits at a specific disadvantage, and one cannot rationalise the practice as being ‘proportionate ways of validating a lawful objective’.

Further, the EA (2010) speaks about the discrimination by perception and discrimination by association and also introduces a new phenomenon ‘discrimination emanating from a disability’ which restores disability associated discrimination under the earlier Disability Discrimination Act, 1955.

How EA 2010 Differs from Earlier Acts