March 26, 1998
(Education)
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BACKGROUNDER
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CANNING
REPORT
The Royal Commission of Inquiry
into the Delivery of Programs and Services in Primary, Elementary, Secondary
Education (1992) recommended that an impartial review of special education
be undertaken. Dr. Patricia Canning, Faculty of Education, Memorial
University was contracted in March 1995, to do a comprehensive review of all
aspects of special education in the province.
SPECIAL MATTERS: The Report of
the Review of Special Education, containing 226 recommendations, was
circulated to various stakeholders for feedback in 1997. An analysis of the
feedback indicated that stakeholders want some form of resolution to the
main issues identified in the Report and generally they want to proceed in
the basic direction set by the Report.
The implementation of the
SPECIAL MATTERS report acts as one of the cornerstones of Government's
reinvestment in education. This year the Government will invest;
- $250,0000 in the provision
of multi-format materials for students with special educational needs
enabling them to access the curriculum. This means that many students
with learning disabilities will be better able to access materials in
formats which will compensate for their learning disabilities.
- $250,0000 in provincial
initiatives designed to address the issue of early literacy,
particularly in the area of remedial reading . This initiative will be
overseen by the Provincial Strategy for Early Literacy and will enable
pilot projects in kindergarten to grade 3 throughout the province.
- Approximately 70 teaching
units, representing a cost of over $3M will be added to the system
beginning in September 1998. This allocation will increase the number of
non-categorical (regular) special education teachers which will ensure a
better balance in the provision of special education services throughout
the province. It will ensure that children with intense needs receive
the supports and services they require to grow and develop to their
maximum potential. Districts will be able to ensure that special
education services are dedicated to children with exceptionalities.
Also, additional teachers
will be allocated to ensure the provision of services to children and
youth with severe needs which are related to Learning Disabilities,
Emotional/Behavioral disorders, Autism, Traumatic Brain Injury and Fetal
Alcohol Syndrome.
Currently the government
provides child specific services to children and youth with severe
mental handicaps and severe physical disabilities on a needs basis. One
teacher is allocated for 4 to 6 students in each category. As with
current allocations, districts will be able to apply for the new student
specific services utilizing specific criteria established by the
Department.
- Two consultants will be
added to the Division of Student Support Services to be involved in
ensuring the recommendations of the SPECIAL MATTERS report are fully
actioned.
- A number of policy and
handbook documents related to the provision of Student Support Services
will be provided to teachers and other stakeholders. One key initiative
will be a Handbook for Parents to provide a greater awareness of the
nature of the supports available to children and youth, nature of
provincial policies, what they can expect from the education system and
how they can be involved in meeting the individual needs of their
children.
The department is taking action
to revise the Special Education Policies for the province, ensure schools
utilize special education personnel to support students with
exceptionalities and develop guides for the provision of services to
students with learning disabilities and communication disorders.
The department is investing in
efforts to coordinate services with the Departments of Human Resources and
Employment, Justice and Health. Through these efforts the system for
individualizing services and supports will be common. This will make the
process much more user friendly for parents and guardians and ensure maximum
utilization of special education personnel for children and youth with
special needs. Parents and children/youth are seen as equal partners in this
process.
Altogether these new initiatives
comprise an investment of approximately $5M for the Canning Report in
addition to the $65M already in the education system for students with
exceptionalities. This investment in the area of Special Education will
ensure that within the next three years the majority of the recommendations
in the SPECIAL MATTERS report will be actioned and services provided for
students with exceptionalities will be utilized for their intended purpose.
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