Thousands sign petition against cuts to tech support for disabled students in England

Disability campaigners have called on the government to halt plans to cut funding for specialist tech support for tens of thousands of disabled students in England. Almost 10,000 people have signed a petition opposing Department for Education (DfE) proposals to withdraw funding for specialist assistive software available as part of the Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA). The petition says it risks “widening the attainment gap for disabled students, increasing student withdrawals, worsening mental health pressures, and reducing progression into employment”. The DSA is a grant that helps students with additional costs they may face in higher education because of their disability. In 2023-24 more than 88,000 students benefited, at a cost of £203m. According to the DfE, funded support for specialist software is no longer needed – except in “exceptional circumstances” – because advances in technology mean free, mass-market tools can do the job just as well. “Where a student requires support that can’t be met through widely available free tools, they will continue to receive funded software through DSA,” a DfE spokesperson said. However, the British Assistive Technology Association (BATA) has said free, general-purpose tools “do not provide equivalent functionality” to individually assessed, clinically recommended specialist tools. …