Special needs students in BC already missing classes
Posted September 22, 2018 12:22 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A couple of weeks into a new school year, and already parents of special needs kids are frustrated.
They are now gathering data to make their case to the Ministry of Education that more funding is needed for their children.
According to the organization BC Ed Access, there have been 138 cases of special needs kids in BC either being secluded or sent home because of a lack of support in the first three weeks of school.
The group’s Nicole Kaler says those numbers are from a new online tool, which simply asks parents to document when their kids are excluded from their lessons.
“You look at the average. There are a dozen a day, just that we know of, that are not accessing service in public school.”
She says as the government focusses on getting more teachers in schools, to abide by a 2016 court ruling, it’s ignoring getting enough education assistants matched up with special needs students.
“With the Supreme Court decision, I think the expectation was that things were getting to get better. But it’s actually worse than it’s ever been. We know that marginalized and stigmatized populations are the first to be put on the cutting block in these situations unfortunately, and that’s exactly what we’ve seen.”
A petition and the data they collect from parents will form part of a message meant for the minister of education.
“We need more educational assistants that are qualified and specialized to work with our students. We need an infusion of money in order to do that.”
In the meantime, BC Ed Access is hosting its annual advocacy conference on Saturday October 6th at Surrey City Hall.
