More than one million students, 14% of the total, required educational support last year.

A total of 1,131,816 schoolchildren, or 14% of the student body , received some form of educational support in the 2023-24 academic year, 17% more than the previous year, according to data published Monday by the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports.

In addition, nearly 220,000 students received a scholarship to cover their needs. Applications for these grants for the next academic year have been open since April 30th and close on September 11th .

85% of students with special educational needs associated with disabilities or serious disorders , representing 3.6% of all students enrolled in non-university education, are enrolled in mainstream schools, while almost 15% are enrolled in special education centers.

These students represent 4% of the public system, 3.6% of the private system, and 0.8% of the private system.

The most common disabilities last year were autism spectrum disorder (31.4% of the total student body), intellectual disabilities (24.7%), and severe communication and language disorders (14%).

The number of students with disabilities or serious disorders was 292,897 (26% of the total ), and the majority were boys.

On the other hand, 838,919 students received educational support linked to needs not considered special .

40.7% of the students suffered from problems stemming from socio-educational vulnerability , and 27.7% from learning disabilities. The remaining students who received support had mild and moderate language and communication development disorders, attention disorders, or high ability, among other problems.

Those with other specific needs represented 11.6% of public schools, 9.4% of subsidized schools, and 2.9% of private schools.

The autonomous communities with the highest percentage of students assessed as having specific needs who receive educational support were Catalonia (23.3%), Navarre (21.8%) and the Balearic Islands (21.7%), and at the other extreme were Aragon (5.7%), Castilla La Mancha (8.3%) and the Basque Country (9.6%).

In the 2023-2024 academic year, the Government allocated 265 million euros in aid to cover needs such as enrollment, school supplies, transportation, dining, housing, pedagogical and language re-education, and specific programs for gifted students.