Administrators across the province write to Education Minister Lisa Thompson to outline concerns that the shift in policy could bring children with high needs into classrooms full-time without adequate resources
Ontario school boards want more resources for students with severe disabilities after a significant change to the province’s autism program that they fear could bring children into classrooms full-time without proper supports.
The change was announced on Feb. 6. In a letter to the minister sent this week, Andréa Grebenc, chair of the Halton District School Board, wrote that making the change with such short notice"will not allow for the ‘safe and supportive classroom’ that you have stated you are committed to.”Ms. Grebenc said in an interview on Wednesday that her district has almost 600 students with autism, which equals about 1 per cent of the total student population, but many have high needs.
Several boards say they spend more on special education than the province allocates for it. Halton, for example, takes $20-million from other areas of its budget “due to the complex and rising needs of students,” Ms. Grebenc wrote in her letter on behalf of the board.
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