Disabilities adopted in 2018 stipulates that new government-funded buildings must be accessible to people with disabilities,31 and that the Health Ministry has the responsibility to cover medical treatment and rehabilitation services for persons with disabilities registered with the State Welfare Organization.32 Article 111 of the Charter on Citizen’s Rights, introduced in 2016 as a guideline for the implementation of the Constitution, states that “Disabled persons must be given the opportunity and possibility to study and acquire skills appropriate to their capabilities. Disability must not lead to deprivation of the right to acquire knowledge and professional skills.”33 Additionally, through its executive Rules on Integrated Education, the Government commits to support and make mainstream education accessible for students with disabilities.34 Despite these legal guarantees, access to inclusive education is reportedly limited for children with disabilities. All Iranian children aged 6 years old must undergo a national medical assessment which determines whether a child can be educated, and if so whether he/she may attend mainstream education or be sent to a special needs school.35 The Ministry of Education’s Special Education Organization is in charge of the education of children with disabilities who have been deemed as able to access education (whether mainstream or specialized), while the State Welfare Organization is responsible for children considered “ineducable”.36 Such an assessment has been criticized as maintaining segregation of children with disabilities and contributing to discriminations against them.37 In 2017, the Centre for Human Rights in Iran reported 5% of children with disabilities attending special needs schools.38 During the 2018-2019 school year, Human Rights Watch reported 150,000 children with disabilities who were enrolled in school out of an estimated 1.5 million, 43% of whom in mainstream education while the rest were admitted in special schools.39 Reasons explaining such a low enrollment include the national medical assessment, physical inaccessibility to educational infrastructures and lack of reasonable accommodations, lack of training for teachers and education officials in inclusive education methods, lack of 31 Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia, 2020, https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/country-informationreport-iran.pdf 32 Center for Human Rights in Iran, https://iranhumanrights.org/2020/01/english-translation-irans-law-to-protect-the-rightsof-the-disabled/ 33 Charter on Citizen’s Rights, English translation, http://president.ir/en/96865 34 See Center for Human Rights in Iran https://iranhumanrights.org/wp-content/uploads/Iran-Disability-EducationChildren.pdf and, https://www.hrw.org/report/2019/10/02/just-other-kids/lack-access-inclusive-quality-education-childrendisabilities#_ftn97 35 Center for Human Rights in Iran, https://iranhumanrights.org/wp-content/uploads/Iran-Disability-Education-Children.pdf and, Human Rights Watch https://www.hrw.org/report/2019/10/02/just-other-kids/lack-access-inclusive-quality-educationchildren-disabilities#_ftn97 36 Center for Human Rights in Iran https://iranhumanrights.org/wp-content/uploads/Iran-Disability-Education-Children.pdf, and, Human Rights Watch https://www.hrw.org/report/2019/10/02/just-other-kids/lack-access-inclusive-quality-educationchildren-disabilities#_ftn10 37 Human Rights Watch, https://www.hrw.org/report/2019/10/02/just-other-kids/lack-access-inclusive-quality-educationchildren-disabilities#_ftn10 38 Information from the Centre for Human Rights in Iran. “Some 137,000 students study at special schools in Iran”, Tehran Times, 2 December 2017, https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/418987/Some-137-000-students-study-at-special-schools-inIran 39 Center for Human Rights in Iran, https://iranhumanrights.org/wp-content/uploads/Iran-Disability-Education-Children.pdf and, Human Rights Watch https://www.hrw.org/report/2019/10/02/just-other-kids/lack-access-inclusive-quality-educationchildren-disabilities#_ftn97 4