In 2011, when Rubén Calleja finished 5th grade of Primary School in León, the Educational Administration decided for him: it forced him to enroll in a special education school, even though neither he nor his parents wanted it. He had Down syndrome and, for the system, that was enough to remove him from the mainstream classroom.
His family did not accept it. They began a legal battle that reached the UN, which determined that Spain had violated Rubén’s rights. The battle continued for years, through one instance after another, until in 2024 the Supreme Court issued a historic ruling: it ordered the Spanish State to compensate him with $28.800 euros for violating his right to inclusive education.
Now, in 2026, the Ministry of Social Rights awarded him the Queen Letizia National Disability Award for becoming ‘a paradigmatic example’ of that struggle.
Rubén has already started his working life, but his father, Alejandro, insists on moving forward: ‘It is important to leave this legacy for the future of new generations’.