My child was referred to a placement committee — what the eligibility and characterization committee is, and your rights in Petach Tikva

First — the name changed, and so did the balance of power

Many parents still get a call from school saying "your child is being referred to a placement committee" (ועדת השמה). That body no longer exists under that name. Amendment 11 to the Special Education Law, 5778-2018 renamed the committees and shifted the decision:

The principle the Ministry of Education states in its own parent booklet: "special education is a service, not a place." The committee no longer places the child. It determines that the child is entitled to special education services and at what scope — and you choose the type of framework.

Three different bodies — do not confuse them

1. Multi-professional team (צוות רב-מקצועי) — convenes at the kindergarten or school itself, chaired by the principal, with the homeroom teacher, a psychologist or counsellor, a special-education teacher — and you, the parents (section 20d). It handles support from the institutional integration budget and builds the individual programme.
2. Eligibility and characterization committee — convenes at the local authority where the child is registered. It determines entitlement, function level and the scope of the service basket.
3. Placement committee (ועדת שיבוץ) — run by the local authority. After entitlement is set and you have chosen a framework type, it decides which specific institution, based on available places, travel distance and class composition. Parents are not invited to it — so name your preferred institution during the eligibility committee and ask for it to be recorded in the protocol.

What the committee decides — and what it does not

Per section 7(a), it determines exactly three things: entitlement to special education services; the child's function level (academic, language/communication, social, emotional, personal autonomy); and the scope of the service basket.

It does not decide which school the child attends (that is the placement committee), and it does not decide the actual mix of support — how many teaching hours, how much therapy, how much aide time. The school's multi-professional team sets that with you.

The central right: you choose the type of framework

Section 7(b) requires the committee to give you written information about the services available in each of three options: a regular kindergarten/class in a mainstream institution; a special-education class inside a mainstream institution; or a special-education kindergarten/school.

Then you choose. Section 7(b)(2): the parents choose the framework and notify the committee within 14 days.

Three caveats worth knowing:

• If you do not notify within 14 days, the choice passes to the committee, which gives preference to integration in mainstream education.
• Certain combinations of disability type and function level carry no choice under the law and directives. Ask the chair explicitly: "in my child's case, do we have a right of choice?" — and ask for the answer to go in the protocol.
• Where there is a substantial concern that the framework you chose would cause real harm to the child or others, the question of your right to choose is referred to the head of the Special Education Division at the Ministry. That decision, too, can be objected to.

Your rights inside the hearing

• To be invited and present. The committee must invite you and the student and let you — or your representative — present your arguments (section 9(b)(3)).
• To bring people of your choosing. An escort, a lawyer, a private professional, an organisation's representative, a family member. No permission needed.
• To receive all documents in advance — at least 14 days before the hearing. If you did not, ask in writing and ask to postpone.
• To submit your own material. Assessments, therapy reports, private opinions, a free-form letter. The parent questionnaire is not mandatory.
• To speak privately. You and the student may ask to address the committee members alone, without the other invitees.
• To interpretation and accessibility — a stronger right than most parents assume. Ministry circular 0287, "Implementing the Special Education Law — statutory committees", provides that where a hearing involves parents with a disability, parents who do not speak Hebrew, or parents who need the process mediated, the chair shall arrange the required accessibility in advance — including reading the documents aloud, translation into a language the parents understand, and mediation. If the accessibility was not provided, a new date shall be set and the hearing held with it — and that postponement does not count towards the limit on postponements. So if you arrived and there was no interpreter, you may ask for the hearing to be rescheduled, and it will not be held against you. Give notice in advance and in writing.
• To bring your own interpreter to the objection committee. The same circular provides that the student and parents may bring experts or other people of their own to the objection hearing, including a lawyer, "and an interpreter of their own".
• To know who is across the table. Six members (section 6(a)): a Ministry representative as chair, a local-authority representative, an educational psychologist, a special-education inspector, a mainstream-education inspector — and a parent representative, themselves a parent of a child with a disability, appointed by the Minister. You may contact the regional parent-representative coordinator and meet them before the hearing.
• To a written protocol and decision — within 14 days (section 9(c)(2)). Without the protocol there is nothing to object to.

The annual timetable

• Referral: by 31 March each year. If the child is mid-assessment, provide confirmation of that by the same date.
• Hearings run from 1 November to 15 May of that school year, save exceptional cases.
• Who may refer (section 8): the parents, the student, the multi-professional team, a recognised educational institution, the local authority, a public organisation, or an authorised body. Parents may approach the committee at any stage — you are not dependent on the school.
• The decision is valid for three years, with a review hearing every three years (section 10(a)). An earlier review may be requested once a year has passed.

Especially important: language and absorption difficulties are not grounds for referral

This may be the most important line on this page. Ministry circular 0287 provides expressly that a new-immigrant student in their first year after aliyah shall be referred to a multi-professional team discussion only where the referring party holds current, admissible documents evidencing a disability — and not on the basis of absorption and language difficulties alone.

In other words: a child who struggles with Hebrew, arrived recently, or is having trouble settling in should not be referred for that reason. A referral requires an admissible document of a diagnosed disability.

This is not theoretical. A 2022 Knesset Research Center document found that 17.2% of Ethiopian-Israeli pupils are entitled to special education services, against 12% among pupils generally — and that over the preceding four years the share of Ethiopian-Israeli pupils integrated into mainstream education had fallen considerably.

So if your child has been referred, ask explicitly, and ask for the answer to be recorded in the protocol: on the basis of which diagnostic document was this referral made? If the answer concerns Hebrew, adjustment or behaviour alone — cite the circular's provision.

How to file an objection (השגה)

Who may file (section 13(a)): the student, a parent, or a public organisation's representative.

By when: 21 days from receiving the decision in writing. The clock runs from written receipt, not from the hearing date.

Against what: the decision in whole or in part — you may contest only the function level, or only the basket scope.

Who hears it: a district objection committee chaired by the Ministry's district director or their delegate (section 12(b)), alongside a district educational psychologist, a special-education inspector, a mainstream-education inspector, a parent of a child with special needs, and a public-organisation representative. You may bring your own representatives.

What it may decide (section 13(b)): accept the objection and change the decision, return the matter to the eligibility committee for re-hearing, or reject it.

By when: 21 days (section 13(c)).

How, in practice: through the Ministry of Education — see the gov.il objections page and the parents' portal. File in writing, with reasons, attaching every relevant document, including new material the first committee did not see. Ask for confirmation of receipt and keep a copy.

A multi-professional team decision may also be objected to, within 21 days of receiving it in writing; that objection is heard by an objection committee sitting as an eligibility and characterization committee.

Walking in prepared

1. Ask in writing for all committee documents — check they arrived 14 days ahead.
2. If you need an Amharic interpreter, request one in writing, in advance.
3. Gather assessments, therapy reports, evaluations, and current hearing and vision tests (required on a first referral).
4. Write down three to five points you want said — and ask for them to be recorded.
5. Ask explicitly: what function level was set? what is the basket scope? do we have a right of framework choice?
6. Do not sign a waiver of attendance unless you understand what you are waiving.
7. Diary the date you received the written decision — and day 21 after it.

If you felt you were treated differently

Feeling unheard, talked over, or that the decision was made in advance is a familiar and legitimate experience, and there are routes for it. The objection procedure is the formal way to challenge the decision itself. Where the issue is discriminatory treatment rather than a wrong decision — see the school registration discrimination guide and parent rights at school, and you can contact Tebeka at 072-2424622.

> Legal note: general information, not legal advice. The check below follows the statute and the Ministry's directives only and is not a binding determination. Procedures and dates change — verify with the committee and the district.

Sources

• Special Education Law, 5748-1988 — full text (Nevo, Hebrew)
• Ministry of Education — implementing Amendment 11, parent information pages (PDF, Hebrew)
• Guide to exercising rights under the Special Education Law — gov.il
• Ministry circular 0287 — implementing the Special Education Law, statutory committees (Hebrew)
• Objections on special-education entitlement decisions — gov.il
• Eligibility and characterization committee — Ministry of Education parents' portal