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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.

1998 03 26 3:30 p.m.

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