Opinion: The missing piece in inclusive education

Last week, during the Conference of State Parties, or CoSP, we heard time and time again about the critical need for sustainable financing.

Globally, an estimated 240 million children and young people live with disabilities — physical, intellectual, or both. Yet they remain among the most invisible and excluded participants in education systems — too often absent from schools, overlooked in education data, and denied the chance to thrive alongside their peers.

Children with intellectual and developmental disabilities, or IDD, are nearly 50% more likely to have never attended school than students without disabilities. In low-income countries, that figure climbs to nearly 90%. Even when physically present in school buildings, they are too often pushed to the margins — isolated, underestimated, and excluded from meaningful participation. This is a global crisis of exclusion — a catastrophic and amoral waste of human potential. 

But we know it’s entirely fixable. From Paraguay to Mongolia to the United Arab Emirates, a growing number of countries are showing what’s possible when governments and civil society come together to design education systems that include every child. 

Financing the future

The cost of excluding children with IDD is staggering. The lack of access to education and employment for people with disabilities costs some low- and middle-income countries up to 7% of gross domestic product. Inclusion is not just a moral obligation — it’s an economic imperative.

At the center of this effort is the Special Olympics Global Coalition for Inclusion — a growing alliance of governments, donors, and civil society partners working to build education systems that fully include students with IDD. Through the coalition, Special Olympics is advancing a global financing model grounded in public-private partnerships.

Philanthropy plays a vital role in seeding innovation — piloting inclusive practices in classrooms, schools, and communities. But it is governments that must take the lead in scaling and sustaining what works.

A powerful example of this commitment is the Special Olympics Global Center for Inclusion in Education based in Abu Dhabi. Established through the UAE’s visionary leadership, the center serves as a global hub for inclusive education — anchoring efforts to transform systems so every child is seen, valued, and included.

One of its flagship initiatives, Unified Champion Schools, brings together students with and without IDD through sport, youth leadership, and whole-school engagement. Thanks to the UAE’s early investment and sustained partnership, this model has now expanded to 25 countries beyond the UAE — demonstrating the transformative power of long-term collaboration and inclusive development.

This momentum is taking root across the globe. In Paraguay, government investment in the Escuelas Abiertas (“Open Schools”) initiative has transformed weekends and summers into inclusive learning spaces — offering enrichment in art, robotics, math, and Special Olympics Unified Sports for children with and without IDD.

In Mongolia, the government — through its engagement in the Global Coalition — has prioritized inclusive teacher training and embedded Unified Champion Schools into broader education reform efforts.

And in Panama, a partnership between the government, Special Olympics, and the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean is helping bring Unified Champion Schools to scale.

The world can no longer afford to overlook 1 in 6 people. With greater investment and shared resolve — where philanthropy sparks innovation and governments ensure scale — we can change the story for millions.