Pupils with dyscalculia should receive compensation

Pupils with dyscalculia are to receive compensation for disadvantages in Saxony. This was agreed by the state parliament on Wednesday evening in a group motion by almost all parliamentary groups. "Every pupil counts. I am delighted about the joint initiative to provide targeted support for pupils with a particular dyscalculia. We will now quickly create the conditions for this," Minister of Education Conrad Clemens (CDU) told the German Press Agency.

In concrete terms, dyscalculia will be recognized as a partial performance weakness in future. Initially, this will apply to grades 1 to 3. The compensation for disadvantages means that affected girls and boys will be given more time for written work, differentiated tasks and space for secondary calculations or will benefit from special didactic and methodological aids. Experts are to develop the details in a working group.

BSW: Years of uncertainty will be ended

The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) also took credit for the success. Lars Wurzler, a member of parliament, emphasized that the state parliament's decision meant that one of his group's central concerns had become a reality. After decades of uncertainty, there will finally be binding and legally secure help for those affected from the coming school year. The recognition of dyscalculia should not remain a symbolic act. "Special attention must also be paid to higher grades."

Left-wing politician Luise Neuhaus-Wartenberg suggested that teachers should also be trained in dealing with dyscalculia. "Of course, preventative measures should also be taken. The most effective way to combat dyscalculia is to intervene early. Good support in nursery school and years 1 and 2 is the best way to prevent dyscalculia." In any case, we need to move away from the assumption that affected children are lazy and should not be given preferential treatment.

CDU: Don't manage deficits, fix them

"We have sharpened the original proposal through an intensive consultation process and put it on a solid foundation. Instead of using the term dyscalculia to generally label particular arithmetic difficulties as a disability, we are focusing on specifically overcoming them," explained CDU education expert Holger Gasse. The aim is not just to manage deficits, but to remedy them through early detection and tailored support.

The motion is the result of the so-called consultation mechanism, in which all parliamentary groups in the state parliament except the AfD are participating. The CDU and SPD form a minority government in the state and are dependent on votes from the BSW, Greens and Left Party for their plans. These in turn can use the mechanism to make their own projects capable of gaining a majority.