Abstract
This study critically examines South Africa's inclusive education legal framework, focusing on the systemic neglect of learners with undiagnosed learning difficulties (LDs) such as dyslexia, ADHD, and auditory processing disorders. Despite progressive policy instruments like the Constitution, the South African Schools Act, and the Screening, Identification, Assessment and Support (SIAS) Policy, the analysis reveals persistent gaps in recognising and supporting learners with hidden cognitive and neurodevelopmental challenges. Using a qualitative interpretivist design, the study applies Bowen's document analysis method to eight foundational legal and policy texts. The findings expose a policy-practice disconnect rooted in vague legal language, insufficient enforcement mechanisms, and medicalised understandings of disability. Drawing on the social model of disability, resilience theory, and Ubuntu philosophy, the paper offers a relational and justice-oriented critique of the current legal framework. It argues for mandatory early screening protocols, teacher training in neurodiversity, culturally adapted diagnostic tools, and cross-sectoral accountability mechanisms. The study contributes to global inclusive education discourses by highlighting the limitations of Eurocentric models in Global South contexts and advocating culturally grounded, context-responsive legal reform. By reframing inclusion through ethical, communal, and decolonial lenses, this research advances a vision of educational justice that is legally enforceable and socially embedded.