Special education on the perspective of inclusive education: implementation challenges of a national policy

This article aims to analyze the challenges of a special education policy within the current inclusive education policy adopted by the Brazilian federal government. Firstly, the paper presents a brief history of the educational guidelines based on the separation of pupils, which supported special education since its beginning until the adoption of a universalization method, with the adoption of mass enrollments of children with or without disabilities in public schools. It goes on to discuss the conditions of implementation of an "inclusive education system", proposed by the federal government, which is supported by a specialized educational service designed to complement and supplement school education. It then presents a case study, considered as a "success case" in a municipal public school, and points out the limits regarding the materialization of the policy proposed. The conclusion emphasizes the impasses established by the federal government choices related to the present educational policy.