ENGLAND — Almost 10,000 people have signed a petition opposing proposals from the Department for Education to withdraw funding for specialist assistive software available as part of the Disabled Students' Allowance. The department proposed withdrawing funding for this software, arguing that advances in technology mean free mass-market tools can perform the same functions, except in exceptional circumstances.
A department spokesperson said: "As technology has moved on, much of the functionality in the tools DSA currently funds is now freely available and already widely used by university students." The spokesperson added: "Where a student requires support that can't be met through widely available free tools, they will continue to receive funded software through DSA."
The Disabled Students' Allowance is a grant that helps students with additional higher education costs they may face because of a disability. In the 2023-24 academic year, more than 88,000 students received this funding, totaling £203 million. The assistive software typically funded includes tools for text-to-speech, speech-to-text, mind mapping, composition, research, note-taking, time management, and task management.
The British Assistive Technology Association stated that free general-purpose tools do not provide equivalent functionality to individually assessed, clinically recommended specialist tools. An association spokesperson said: "For many disabled students, specialist assistive technology is the difference between participating in higher education and being unable to do so at all." Chris Purcell, co-founder of the assistive technology company CareScribe, said: "Replacing specialist assistive technology with untested free alternatives is abandonment." Purcell added: "It strips away the adjustments that make study possible and exposes disabled students to failure that is entirely avoidable." He said: "Ministers should halt these proposals, publish a full impact assessment and protect disabled students' allowances so talent is not lost at the university gate."
Sam Wood, a disabled students officer and second-year criminology student at Edge Hill University, said: "DSA-funded specialist tech is what levels the playing field for me." Wood explained: "Because of my condition, reading takes me much longer. Tools like Scholarcy are vital because they summarise long journal articles into key points, saving me from wasting hours on irrelevant literature." He added: "Forcing us on to free alternatives adds an unnecessary layer of stress and academic stigma, while creating a huge burden of proof for students to qualify for exceptional circumstances." A government consultation on the proposed changes to the Disabled Students' Allowance closes on 18 June.