Impact of Right to Education on School Enrollment of Children with Disabilities : Evidence from India

I evaluate the impact of right to education from the passing of Right To Education (RTE) Act in India in 2009. India’s RTE Act guaranteed free education to children aged six to fourteen years including children with disabilities (CWD). Given that school participation deficit associated with disability is large, I provide results which are relieving to policy makers. I use an event study estimation and an interrupted time series research design and find that the RTE Act led to a 60 percent increase in schooling among CWD within three years. The estimate is driven by enrollment across all grades. I also provide suggestive evidence that the estimate is not driven by an increase in the number of schools or in disable-friendly ramps within schools