September 20, 1999
(Education)

Students with special needs better resourced than ever before

"Students with special needs who attend schools in this province have more resources available to them than ever before," said Judy Foote, Minister of Education.

"Our special needs students are among the most vulnerable in society which is why several layers of supports are provided including regular classroom teachers, special education teachers, categorical teachers for severe physical disabilities, cognitive delays, emotional/behavioral disorders, health/neurological disorders, and learning disabilities and student assistants. In total 1,824 full-time positions, in addition to classroom teachers, have been assigned to students with special needs. These include special education teachers (609), categorical teachers (335), specialists (280) and student assistants (600)," said Minister Foote.

"At 10 per 1,000, Newfoundland and Labrador has one of the best special needs pupil-teacher ratios in the country, double the national average of five per 1,000. We are working with school boards, parents and others to ensure that students who need assistance are properly assessed and that they get the help they need."

"The Department of Education's budget for student assistants has increased to $8 million for the 1999/2000 school year - an increase of 23 per cent since 1997/98," said Minister Foote. The level of support has not decreased despite declining student enrolment.

"Government has committed greater resources to the provision of student support services this year than last and is working hard to improve the educational experience of students with special needs. The total investment in support for students with special needs is over $70 million," said Minister Foote. "This represents 14.3 per cent of the total K-12 budget for this year."

In September of 1998, then education minister Roger Grimes committed to ensure that all parents would be notified whether or nor their child would receive student assistant support by June 1999. Government met this commitment. School boards were notified on May 31 of approvals for students with cognitive delay, physical disabilities and visual and hearing impairments and were told to notify parents as soon as possible. Because of a significant increase in the number of applications in the behavioural disorder category, a review of this category was carried out.

On June 18, 1999, school boards were notified of the students who met eligibility requirements in the behavior category and the total number of hours allocated to each school. School boards were to notify parents as soon as possible as to whether their child was approved for support.

"Government is committed to providing the right balance of support through an interdisciplinary approach to empower students to become independent, integrated, contributing members of the community," concluded Minister Foote. "The department works cooperatively with all stakeholders to ensure that the needs of all our students are met."

Media contact: Nancy Healey, (709) 729-0048

1999 09 20                                     4:50 p.m.