A mother said she feels 'physically sick' at the thought of separating her twins after they were allocated different primary schools by Oxfordshire County Council.
Becky Pykett's four-year-old Henry has disabilities including autism and global development delay and relies on twin Elsie.
The family, from North Weston near Thame, visited 12 mainstream schools to find a suitable place for Henry who has an education, health and care (EHC) plan that allows more help than is available through special educational needs support.
They finally chose school Mill Lane School in Chinnor and Henry got a place.
But then they got the news that Elsie would be going to a different school – and one not even on their list.
"I couldn't believe it," said Becky. "I've never in my life experienced this kind of stress. The fact that both twins may be forced apart makes me feel physically sick.
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"Henry's start to the day relies so heavily on a predictable schedule and routine which includes Elsie. They even insist they wear matching coats. Henry will not enter the pre-school gates without her.
"He doesn't even sit and have breakfast unless Elsie is there with him."
Under the law if the last place at a parent's preferred school has been allocated to one twin, the other will also be offered a place even if that exceeds the admissions number.
Yet when one twin or triplet has SEN and one does not, they are excluded from this legislation.
Ms Pykett said this is disability discrimination and is campaigning to get the law changed.
She said: “Basically it excludes twins of which one has a disability. If they were both neurotypical they would have got into the same school or the admissions team would be currently sorting this out.”
It was only while going through the appeal process that the family discovered that Oxfordshire is one of the few counties in England that does not admit the non-SEN twin or triplet even if there is not a place technically at the school.
She said: “So in Buckinghamshire, 10 miles away, it’s at their discretion to go over the infant class size.”
The family have not been given an appeal date yet but have been told it is likely to be the end of July.
“That’s when schools are closed,” she said. “If anyone needs a transition it’s my children.
“Going to school is so scary for any child but for Henry it’s going to be a very, very big step."
She added: “We’re not getting any help from the local authority. They keep saying they have followed the admissions policy – which they have, but it discriminates against one child being disabled."
The family's case is not unique.
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Shauna Leven, chief executive at Twins Trust, said: “We deal with between five and 10 cases like this every year for primary and secondary school places.
“Schools need to understand that twins and triplets have distinct educational needs and schools must be flexible enough to accommodate parental wishes.”
Ms Pykett said: “This situation has made me ill with the stress of it all.
“The council just keep reading the policy back to me - but I already know it inside out."
A council spokesperson said: "We can’t comment on individual cases, other than to confirm we are in discussions with the parent and working hard to find an acceptable solution."
Additional reporting by Kate Skelton
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