Remaining Barriers and Opportunities

Significant challenges remain: the continued expansion of special classes, the fragmentation of professional development, the conflation of UDL with differentiation, and the dominance of the medical model of disability all represent barriers to the systemic change that UDL requires. The NCSE's pilot of UDL in 45 schools beginning in September 2025, and the ongoing review of the EPSEN Act, provide critical opportunities to accelerate this change. Ireland's 2.6 billion euro annual investment in special education underscores both the scale of the challenge and the potential return on investing in UDL as a systemic solution.