Classroom Analysis ---- Since the law of February 11, 2005, on disability, the number of students with disabilities enrolled in mainstream schools has increased very rapidly (1). Primarily found in primary and middle schools, these students are supposed to (but are not always) be supported by Teaching Assistants for Students with Disabilities (AESH). These assistants (over 90% of whom are women) help them daily with learning, but also with various other tasks, depending on the student's needs, as assessed by the Departmental Centers for Disabled Persons (MDPH). They also support students with "special needs" (behavioral disorders, attention deficit disorders, hyperactivity, etc.), and are therefore responsible for managing, with the resources available, the diversity in overcrowded classrooms. In total, approximately 130,000 AESHs (Assistants for Students with Disabilities), on fixed-term or permanent contracts, most with imposed part-time hours of 60%, meaning 24 hours of support per week (but present at the workplace for much longer), are exploited by the French National Education system, making them the second largest profession after teachers.
So, who are they? The typical profile is that of a single mother with children, in a precarious situation, who sometimes holds several jobs to supplement her meager salary (a little over half the minimum wage). They come from working-class families or are university graduates who have experienced downward mobility. Depending on their qualifications and therefore their educational background, their relationship with the teacher varies greatly. Indeed, a degree confers a form of legitimacy and recognition on the teacher, which the latter may perceive as competition. They often justify this career choice by citing the free time they have for their children and the relative autonomy they enjoy in their work.
Despite a fairly high turnover rate due to the often difficult nature of the job (acting as a safety valve to manage the diversity of student profiles, containing students in crisis among 30 others), and the lack of financial compensation, they often have a positive perception of their work, typical of caregiving, social work, or community-based professions. Despite their in-depth knowledge of the children they support, they are rendered invisible, undervalued, and have little influence on institutional decisions concerning school-aged children.
Inclusive education: the heist of the century?
In the post-World War II era, to address the consequences of mass schooling in terms of student numbers and diversity, the administration created what sociologists have called "non-teaching staff." In the 1980s, these staff members "were gradually replaced by education technicians, less qualified, less paid, and very often in a precarious employment situation (1)," including the AESH (Assistants for Students with Disabilities).
Moreover, as has already been written in the pages of Courant Alternatif (2), the AESH status is a very convenient creation for the state as employer. Indeed, it is much more expensive to pay specialized educators, doctors, and psychologists to support children with disabilities in specialized institutions than to pay AESH in so-called inclusive schools.
It is therefore within the framework of a double contradiction that we must understand the strikes of these "non-teaching staff." The first contradiction lies in inclusive schools, which, under the guise of good intentions of social mixing within schools, place workers in impossible situations due to a lack of resources and training. The second issue is the creeping contractualization of the national education system, with several tens of percent of contract workers (3) - including AESHs (Assistants for Students with Disabilities) - who have become indispensable to compensate for declining attractiveness, but whose precarious employment and lack of recognition are juxtaposed with that of other civil servants. The Senate's refusal, supported by the government, on January 7, 2026, to create a Category B civil service body for AESHs clearly demonstrates how the state, acting as employer, intends to resolve these contradictions.
The strike against hypocrisy and for recognition
In Trappes, at the Maurice Thorez school, the previous school year's team, under immense pressure due to a critical shortage of AESHs compared to the number of students with special needs enrolled, repeatedly escalated their complaints to management (to no avail), suffered from sick leave, burnout, and other issues. To address the problem, the administration assigned a new team for the 2025-2026 school year, comprising six AESHs. In January, a resignation worsened the staff shortage. Consequences: "in addition to supporting students with disabilities for whom they have a notification, they are asked to support students[from other classes]who do not yet have an AESH. Some AESHs (Assistants for Students with Disabilities) find themselves supporting up to 7 different students[...]in a single day (4)", and the support time per student decreases accordingly (5).
On February 2nd, four AESHs (one of whom was on sick leave), united and determined, supported by SUD-Education 78, began an indefinite strike. Despite intimidation, the lack of participation from the school's teachers, and the administration's certainty that the strike would not last, the AESHs continued until victory. On the third day, they were offered a 12-hour position to replace the resigning AESH, representing 24 hours. This was refused. On the twelfth day, a representative from the academic administration announced the recruitment of an AESH for the position. They made it clear that the strike would continue if this was just an empty promise. On Monday the 16th, they returned to work with their heads held high.
This first victory allowed them to draw several lessons. First, a strike, when self-organized, sustained, and supported by a strike fund, can produce results at the local level, far more so than the "days of action" organized by the major unions (6), but solidarity from teachers is by no means guaranteed (7). Second, recognition of contract workers in the national education system will only be achieved through struggle, as the institutional route is blocked. A media platform exists for the struggles of teaching assistants for students with disabilities (AESH), because the State is immediately confronted with its contradictions. Finally, this is precisely what the administration fears: that this strike will serve as an example, that contract workers, including AESH, will raise their heads and become aware of their collective strength. A victory that calls for others!
zyg, February 18, 2026
Notes
(1) From 28,000 in 2015 to approximately 100,000 in 2022. For figures, a brief history of laws on disability and education, as well as a sociological field study on the work of AESH (Assistants for Students with Disabilities), see *Autonomy in Invisibility: Support Workers for Students with Disabilities*, by Christophe Chevalier, Arthur Imbert, and Alicia Jacquot, *La Nouvelle Revue du Travail*, 2022.
(2) "School Inclusion: A New Offensive by Bourgeois Education," by Philippe Geneste, *Courant Alternatif* no. 305, December 2020.
(3) "Where is School Going?" (4) "Alternative Current No. 325," December 2022
(5) Press release from SUD Education 78, February 6, 2026
(6) "National strike of AESHs: an echo from the Mantois region," Alternative Current No. 314, November 2021
(7) "Rethinking a radical critique of the capitalist school," Alternative Current No. 292, Summer 2019
http://oclibertaire.lautre.net/spip.php?article4668
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Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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