Guarantee equal opportunities. This is the main objective of the Royal Decree on Thresholds that the Government of Spain revealed last Tuesday, February 21, in the Council of Ministers and that regulates study scholarships for the next academic year 2023-2024. More than half a million students will benefit from the 2,500 million euros that will be allocated. Of these, 240,000 will be students with special educational needs, in some cases with disabilities, who will receive universal aid of 400 euros. But these will have to meet a series of requirements if they want to get this subsidy that will be called from the month of March, according to estimates.
In this item, the investment has felt 70% since the last budget of the previous Executive. With this, it is intended to guarantee “equal opportunities and that thousands of students can continue training without their socioeconomic conditions being an obstacle to it”, as assured by the Minister of Education and Vocational Training, Pilar Alegría.
Another of the great novelties of this call is the increase from 1,600 to 2,500 euros in residence grants for post-compulsory studies, which will reach some 125,000 students, especially those from rural environments who must use other locations to study
To which students is the new aid of 400 euros directed?
The universal aid of 400 euros is allocated to all students who apply for the special needs scholarship. This subsidy aims to defray the additional expenses that families with sons or daughters who have these needs must assume to meet their vital needs, as detailed in the law itself and as stated on the La Moncloa website.
In addition, it must be taken into account that these are different from general scholarships, so students with specific educational support needs who are at the following levels of study must apply separately to the Ministry of Education:
Second cycle of Early Childhood Education. Primary Education. Compulsory Secondary Education (ESO). Baccalaureate. Basic, Intermediate and Higher Level training cycles. Vocational Training (FP) training programs.
Despite the fact that the decree does not refer to special education, nor to the EBO levels -Compulsory Basic Education-, the scholarship can also be requested in these centers.
Requirements to access these universal scholarships
The granting of these scholarships of 400 euros is conditional on the student meeting the following characteristics:
Have specific needs for educational support derived from a disability of at least 33%, or severe conduct disorder. Suffering from a severe communication and language disorder associated with special educational needs. -.Have high capacities.
On the contrary, this aid cannot be accessed by university students. But the law establishes a series of measures to compensate the disadvantages of university students with disabilities. One of them is the increase of up to 50% in the amount of the scholarships when the applicant has a legally qualified disability of a degree equal to or greater than 65%.
What is the amount of special needs aid?
The new aid that will come into force in the 2023-2024 academic year has a fixed amount of 400 euros, and this will be granted to all students with special needs who apply for it and meet the requirements, regardless of the income level of their families. But there are many other subsidies that are allocated to these students and whose purpose is to cover the costs of dining, transportation, material, re-education, residence… For each of these needs, there are established amounts that have not varied with respect to previous years:
Teaching aid: up to 862 euros School transport: up to 617 euros School canteen: up to 574 euros School residence: up to 1,795 euros Weekend transport: up to 442 euros Urban transport: up to 308 euros 105 or 204 euros Pedagogical re-education: up to 913 euros.Language re-education: up to 913 euros.
