Disability classifications is given a minor role in the Swedish national policy onspecial needs in schools. In the present study questionnaires are used toinvestigate the actual importance of medical diagnosis in obtaining specialsupport as well as attitudes towards such practices. The study involves differentlevels of the educational system as well as different occupational groups withincompulsory schooling and preschool. The results show that: 1) disability-basedcategories are seen as less needed in practice by chief education officers than byprincipals; 2) disability-based classifications have stronger support among schoolstaff than in the guiding documents and among principals and chief educationofficers; 3) a disability-based approach has stronger support at the compulsoryschool level than at the preschool level; 4) the group most in favour of disabilitybasedclassifications is teachers and those most against are chief educationofficers, principals and SENCOs.