An Introduction to Special Education Services In BC Pamela Cameron Pamela Cameron Vancouver Island University Fall 2011

Define the following    Exceptional students    At risk    Special education    Adapted curriculum    Modified curriculum    Charter of rights and freedoms    Inclusion    Individual education plan    School based team    Mainstreaming    Gifted    High incidence    Low incidence    Integration    Impairment    Disability    Handicap

BC Special Education Acronym Guide  ADD/ADHDMCFD  APAOCD  ARC-BCOT  ASDPDD  ASLPOPARD  ATPOPFASD  BC CASEPRCVI  BSP PT  CASTPRP  CDBCSET BC  CDCUDL  CECWIAT 2  CYMHWIKI  DLWISC  ESLWJ3  FASD  LA

History of Special Education in Canada   1978 – Alberta Supreme Court decision Ordered Lamont County school board to widen doors, build a ramp, and educate Shelley Carriere, a student with cerebral palsy, in her community school   1980 – Ontario Education Act was amended to recognize the rights of students with disabilities to receive an appropriate education at public expense, and to permit parents to appeal the identification of their child as exceptional and the placement of their child.

Exclusion to Integration  1981 Charter of Rights and Freedoms  1985 Charter amendment prohibits discrimination on the basis of mental or physical disability  1985 Charter amendment prohibits discrimination on the basis of mental or physical disability  Major changes in the Canadian education system “From Exclusion to Integration”

History of Special Education in Canada 1995 – Eaton v. Brant County School Board Stated that “unless the parents of a child who has been identified as exceptional by reason of a physical or mental disability, consent to the placement of that child in a segregated environment, the school board must provide a placement that is the least exclusionary from the mainstream and still reasonably capable of meeting the child’s special needs” (Eaton v. Brant Board of Education, 1995, pp )

B.C. Ministry Definitions   Definition: Students with special needs: have disabilities of an intellectual, physical, sensory, emotional, or behavioural nature, or have a learning disability or have exceptional gifts or talents

BC Min of Education requires that …. Wherever possible, students with special educational needs are educated in: 1. Regular 1. Regular classrooms 2.In their neighbourhood schools

B.C. Ministry Definitions   Goal: The goal of the BC school system is to support the intellectual development of all students, including those with special needs. Enabling all students to achieve the goals of human, social and career development is a responsibility shared by schools, families and the community.

B.C. Ministry Definitions   Inclusion: The School Act requires that school boards make available educational programs to all school age persons resident in the district. All students are to be included. A Ministerial Order requires the integration of students with special needs with those who do not have special needs in most instances

Current State of Inclusive Education in B.C. Inclusive education in B.C. is defined as:   The value system which holds that all students are entitled to equitable access to learning, achievement and the pursuit of excellence in all aspects of their education.   The practice of inclusion transcends the idea of physical location, and incorporates basic values that promote participation, friendship and interaction.

Current State of Inclusive Education   The changes we are experiencing currently are intended to ‘move from the goal of access for as many students as possible to success for as many as possible’

Current State of Inclusive Education   Success for exceptional students depends on complex rights that include:   a. identification of educational needs   b. adapted teaching and services to meet those needs

Individual Education Plan Describes ……. Program goals and objectives designed to meet the individual needs of each student

Individual Education Plans Written in consultation with:  Parents  Classroom teachers & administration  Other involved specialists & outside agencies agencies

Individual Education Plans Include:  Medical information and diagnosis  Current levels of educational performance  Goals for the student  All adaptations/modifications to materials & instructional & assessment methods

Individual Education Plans Describe:   All support services in place  Names of all personnel providing support services during the school year  Period of time and process for review of the IEP & any SET BC requirements

Activity   In small groups, respond to the following challenge: Should we have a policy of inclusion in our schools? 2. What are the advantages/disadvantages of adopting such a model?

Low Incidence Categories  A: Dependent Handicapped  B: Deaf Blind  C: Moderately Intellectually Challenged  D: Physical Disability/ Chronic Health Impairment  E: Visually Impaired  F: Deaf or Hard of Hearing  G: Autism Spectrum Disorder

Dependent Handicapped   The student is completely dependent on others for meeting all major daily living needs.   Requires assistance at all times for each of the following:    Feeding    Dressing    Toileting    Mobility    Personal Hygiene

Deaf/Blind  Medical evidence shows that the student's vision is impaired (from partial sight to total blindness) And  Medical evidence shows that the student's hearing is impaired (from moderate to profound hearing loss). The degree of impairments, when compounded, results in significant communicative, educational, vocational, and social skills difficulties

Moderate to Profound Intellectual Disabilities   Assessment information indicates the student's intellectual functioning is more than 3 standard deviations below the norm on an individually administered Level C assessment of intellectual functioning (SS <55), and   There is delayed adaptive behaviour and functioning of similar degree (SS<55) on a norm referenced measure of adaptive behaviour.

Physical Disability/Chronic Health Impairment   Documentation of a medical diagnosis, carried out by a physician in one or more of the following areas:    Nervous system impairment    Musculoskeletal condition    Chronic health impairment

Visual Impairments  A documented report by an opthalmologist, optometrist, orthopist or the Visually Impaired Program of the BC Children’s Hospital which describes the students visual impairment having visual problems even after eye correction. Details are in the category checklists.

Deaf or Hard of Hearing  The student must have a medically diagnosed significant bilateral or unilateral hearing loss with significant speech/language delay, or a cochlear implant typically documented in a report from a health professional such as an audiologist

Autism Spectrum Disorders The syndrome of autism is a condition characterized by a marked disorder of communication and a severe disturbance of intellectual, emotional and behavioural development. It is a syndrome defined and diagnosed through the observation of behaviours. The syndrome is caused by an underlying physical dysfunction within the brain or central nervous system, the exact nature of which is as yet unknown.

Intensive Behaviour Support or Students with Serious Mental Illness   Students who require behaviour supports are students whose behaviours reflect dysfunctional interactions between the student and one or more elements of the environment, including the classroom, school, family, peers and community. This is commonly referred to as behaviour disorders.   Behaviour disorders vary in their severity and effect on learning, interpersonal relations and personal adjustment.

Intensive Behaviour Support…..   Students Requiring Intensive Behaviour Interventions are eligible to be claimed in this special education funding category if they exhibit:  antisocial, extremely disruptive behaviour in most environments (for example, classroom, school, family, and the community); and·  behaviours that are consistent/persistent over time

Intensive Behaviour Support….  serious mental health conditions which have been diagnosed by a qualified mental health clinician (psychologist with appropriate training, psychiatrist, or physician); and  serious mental illnesses which manifest themselves in profound withdrawal or other negative internalizing behaviours; and  These students often have histories of profound problems, and present as very vulnerable, fragile students who are seriously 'at risk' in classroom and other environments without extensive support.

High Incidence Categories  Learning Disabilities  Mild Intellectual Disabilities  Gifted  Moderate Behaviour Support or Students with Mental Illness

Activity Reflect on your experiences with inclusion: 1. What did you gain? 2. What did the person with the exceptionality gain? 3. What did the school community gain?   Discuss in small groups

Funding Structure Level 1 = $36,600 Dependent Handicapped (A) Deaf Blind (B)

Funding Structure Level 2 = $18,300  Moderate to Severe/ Profound Intellectual Profound Intellectual Disabilities (C) Disabilities (C)  Physical Disabilities/ Chronic Health (D)  Visual Impairments (E)  Deaf or Hard of Hearing (F)  Autism (G)

Funding Structure Level 3 = $9,200  Intensive Behaviour Interventions /Serious Mental Illness (H) Interventions /Serious Mental Illness (H)

Funding Structure High Incidence funding is included in student allocation  Mild Intellectual Disabilities (K)  Learning Disabilities (Q)  Behaviour Support / Mental Illness (R)  Gifted (P)

Meeting the Criteria for Supplemental Funding  Must meet the criteria for placement in the specific category / medical diagnosis  A current IEP must be in place  Ongoing and regular special education services must be provided

Meeting the Criteria for supplemental funding  Services must be outlined in IEP and directly related to the student’s identified special needs  Services must be outlined in IEP and directly related to the student’s identified special needs  Special education service(s) must be in addition to any services provided under the formula funding eg. Learning assistance, counseling

District or School-based Specialists for:  Students with Special Needs  Severe Learning Disabilities  Students requiring Behaviour Support  Deaf or Hard of Hearing  Visually Impaired

District or School-based Specialists con’t  Speech and Language Pathologists  Occupational Therapist & Physiotherapist  School Psychologist (Assessment)  Teacher of Hospital Homebound  Coordinator for Special Education Technology (SET BC)

Education Assistants  $8,000 buys about 5 hours of EA time per week  $16,000 buys about 11 hours of EA time per week  $32,000 buys about 23 hours per week  20 hours per week= $28,000  27.5 hours per week= $38,500  30 hour position = $ 42,000 per year  Under supervision of the program manager, education assistants play a key role in program implementation

Activity Discuss the following: 1. How are EAs allocated in your district/schools? 2. Does the level of funding meet the needs of designated students? 3. If the funding is not sufficient, what are some creative ways your school uses your EA time? 4. Do you see circumstances where EA time could be used more efficiently?