Catalonia updates 24 laws to eliminate offensive terms regarding disability

Law 15/2026, of November 6, on the updating of legislation regarding the terms used to refer to people with disabilities, replaces obsolete, imprecise, or pejorative expressions that still persist in Catalan regulations. The regulation, promulgated by President Salvador Illa i Roca, is published in the Official Gazette of the Generalitat de Catalunya (DOGC) no. 9790, of November 9, 2026, with the reference CVE-DOGC-A-26310019-2026, and enters into force the day after publication, November 10.

The law, promoted by the Department of the Presidency, is structured into 24 chapters —one for each law being modified—, 48 articles, and two final provisions, and occupies pages 1 to 14 of the bulletin, within the section of general provisions. The preamble sets the objective that legal norms provide “an objective and precise image” of people with disabilities, which implies, according to the text, using “respectful and rigorous” language.

The framework for the reform is the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, approved on December 13, 2006, and in force since May 3, 2008, which supports the use of the term “person with a disability.” The preamble also invokes the recent reform of Article 49 of the Spanish Constitution —which replaced “physically, sensorially, and psychically disabled”—, Article 40.5 of the Statute of Autonomy, and the precedent of Law 12/2007, of October 11, on social services. Likewise, it recalls that the Generalitat de Catalunya has been working toward this objective since 2021, when the Inclusive Language Guide for the treatment of people with disabilities was developed.

New terms for old concepts

The terminological changes are the core of the regulation and affect both preambles and articles:

• The expressions “disminuït” (disabled/impaired) and “minusvàlid” (handicapped) are replaced by the term “person with a disability”.
• “Psychic disability” becomes “intellectual disability”.
• “Mental disability” becomes “psychosocial disability”, the origin of which is a dysfunction caused by a mental health problem.
• The expression “functional diversity” is revised to prevent it from being used as a euphemism that invisibilizes people with disabilities.
• The term “multiple disabilities” (pluridiscapacitat) is incorporated for the interrelated concurrence of two or more disabilities, as in cases of cerebral palsy.
• “Ableism” (capacitisme) is defined as “the aversion to or discrimination against people with disabilities” (Article 4 of Law 19/2020).

A scope of 24 sectoral laws

The reform touches upon regulations in practically all areas of the Catalan administration. Among the modified laws are:

• Law 19/2020, on equal treatment and non-discrimination, and Law 17/2015, on effective equality between women and men.
• Law 13/2014, on accessibility, which includes public transport, training for public-facing staff, and educational support for students with sensory disabilities.
• Law 12/2009, on education, and Law 14/2010, on rights and opportunities in childhood and adolescence.
• Law 18/2007, on the right to housing, and Law 12/2007, on social services.
• Legislative Decree 1/2000, approving the single text of the Sports Law, and Legislative Decree 1/1997, regarding public service.
• Law 18/2003, on family support, and Law 27/2002, on socio-labor insertion companies.

The first final provision establishes that all legal or regulatory norms enacted from now on must use respectful and appropriate language in the field of disability, in order to eradicate pejorative terminology.

Public employment, subsidies, and social entities

Beyond vocabulary, the law reorganizes specific obligations for administrations and for entities that contract with them or receive aid. Article 48, which modifies Article 27 of Legislative Decree 1/1997, sets the reservation at a maximum of 5% of public employment offer positions, with the aim that 2% of the workforce be filled by people with recognized disabilities.

Article 41, which reforms Article 92.5 of the recast text of the Public Finance Law of Catalonia (Legislative Decree 3/2002), mandates that all public calls for subsidies include, among the requirements for companies, justification of compliance with the reservation quota for the social integration of people with disabilities. The regulation also updates the definition of a person in a situation of dependency (Article 33) and the regime of housing aid and primary residence for people with disabilities (Articles 34 and 35).

The regulation directly affects third-sector entities, insertion companies, and any citizen interacting with the administration: the language of official texts now has legal consequences and not just stylistic ones. With its entry into force the day after publication, departments and local bodies already have the framework to review their regulations and forms.

Source: Official Gazette of the Generalitat de Catalunya, no. 9790, November 9, 2026, General Provisions, pp. 1-14 (official reference: CVE-DOGC-A-26310019-2026).