In the programme, the Vienna Director of Education declared his willingness to find a solution for the girl in particular and for similar cases in general. Parents of children with special educational needs would only discover in such situations that cases outside the standardised school routine were in a legal grey area. It is also necessary to create a legal basis for special needs. The Directorate of Education would examine what legal and substantive options could be offered.
Ombudsman Walter Rosenkranz pointed out that the girl was not an isolated case, but that children with other chronic illnesses were also unable to find adequate care. In the St Anna Children's Hospital there is a home schooling programme for children with cancer. In Upper Austria and Lower Austria, parents who employ teachers for home schooling are granted financial support, but this is considered too little by those affected. For school-age children who are medically certified as being unable to follow school lessons, the Education Directorate is already obliged to advise parents on possible alternatives.
Enquiry: Resolved conflict between accessibility and monument protection
There are often complaints that museums in historical buildings are not barrier-free. The reason often given for this is the protection of historical monuments, which would prevent the installation of lifts or similar measures. For the first broadcast of the topic, test subjects assessed the accessibility: the accessibility of the Kunsthistorisches Museum (KHM) was rated slightly better than that of the Naturhistorisches Museum (NHM).
Missing handrails and doors that were difficult to open at the main entrance have since been added or repaired. Ombudsman Rosenkranz referred to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, according to which barrier-free access is mandatory. This is not an optional provision, but every person, including those with a physical impairment, should be able to lead a self-determined life without having to rely on outside help. In order to combine accessibility and monument protection, the installation of a lift would require a costly solution. Rosenkranz, however, welcomed the announcement that accessibility measures would also be taken into account by the Federal Monuments Office.
On ORF TVthek, you can watch the current Citizens' Advocate programme online for one week at a time