After the 2007 Grand Chamber judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the case of Roma pupils being disproportionately educated in special schools, the Czech Equality Body was the first institution to collect ethnic data. In 2012, we conducted a survey into the ethnic composition of special schools. Although the proportion of Roma people in the Czech Republic was about 3 %, one third of pupils in monitored special schools were Roma. That was proof of persistent indirect discrimination. Our research sparked a society-wide debate. Since then, the Czech School Inspectorate and now Ministry of Education annually collect ethnic data necessary for the monitoring of the situation and implementation of the ECtHR judgment.
