Special education gets $300 million funding boost

Premier Kathleen Wynne announces money for additional teachers and education workers to help special education students.

Thestar.com
March 27, 2018
Kristin Rushowy

The Liberals are pledging to spend an additional $300 million over the next three years to hire teachers and assistants to work with special education students  an area parents and school boards have long complained is underfunded.

Premier Kathleen Wynne made the announcement Monday at a Toronto elementary school, saying the roughly $100 million a year will also put an end to wait lists.

“What we’re hearing from teachers at this moment is that they have to find the balance between making sure their classroom is a safe and supportive place for all of their students to be able to learn,” Wynne said at Kimberley Junior Public School.

“What I want to say to teachers is that we are listening to you ... We know that we need to do more so that children with special education needs are getting the right support.”

The way to do that, she added, is “putting more people, more helping hands, more caring professionals in our classrooms.”

The first instalment for the 2018 school year is $102 million, and school boards expect to create an additional 600 full-time positions by the 2019 school year.

Education Minister Indira Naidoo-Harris said the funding will be permanently added to the budget, and will be “enveloped,” mandating boards spend it on special education and not move it to other underfunded areas.

The government also announced a bump in education grants -- $625 million more for the 2018-19 school year, up to $24.5 billion  including a small raise of $400 a year for trustees.

In total, the government is adding 2,000 education jobs, including more guidance counsellors for middle schools, mental health workers and speech-language pathologists.

Wynne’s education announcement comes just two days before Wednesday’s budget. Opposition critics said the additional dollars won’t make much difference to special education students, and questioned the government’s motives in making the announcement two months before the June election.

But Naidoo-Harris said "this funding is going directly where it's needed and I think it is going to have a massive impact on the school system -- and the impact it is going to have is going to be felt for years to come."

The Ontario Public School Boards’ Association welcomed the news.

Special education “continues to be an area in which boards have been requesting more supports and resources,” said president Laurie French. “This has been a consistent and ongoing challenge, and we’ve been sounding the alarm on this issue for years.”

People for Education, an advocacy group, estimates that 35,000 students across the province are on wait lists for special education assessments.

“If we can get rid of some of the backlog on these things, that’s terrific,” said Robin Pilkey, chair of the Toronto District School Board.

But opposition parties said the government has ignored parents’ concerns for years.

NDP Education Critic Peggy Sattler (London West) said the funds are “unlikely to have an impact on reversing the years of special education cuts that we have experienced.”

Progressive Conservative MPP Todd Smith (Prince Edward-Hastings) said in his riding, “education assistants have been cut and teaching positions cut in classrooms. There are a lot of schools now where they just aren’t accepting children with special needs and (parents) have to try and find someplace to put their kids.

“We have people coming to my constituency office in Belleville all the time. They are at their wit’s end.”

Wynne also has an announcement planned for Tuesday morning that is expected to address child care.

Last fall, the Liberals struck a strategy group to come up with a plan to ensure there are enough trained early childhood educators to oversee the 100,000 spaces they have already said they will create.

A recent government survey of licensed child-care centres found more than 60 per cent of full-time registered early childhood educators earn less than $20 an hour.

The Association of Early Childhood Educators is calling for a $25-an-hour starting rate for registered ECEs -- equal to what most ECEs in the classroom earn.

Wednesday’s budget is also expected to eliminate the wait list for developmental services for children when they turn 18, meaning they won’t be cut off while transitioning to adult funding.