This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Special needs education for students with disabilities in Ontario is in crisis. However, the solution may not simply be more money or more oversight.
A recent report published by the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario detailed troubling findings on special needs education within the province, including students with special needs sometimes being sent home or asked to stay home without schools tracking the frequency and context of incidents. The report's findings and recommendations have been welcomed by many who have seen these problems play out in real time. A common response centers on the call for more funding and more oversight to address the problems identified.
Given that school boards generally spend more on special education than allocated, increased funding could seem a logical solution. Also, given the apparent lack of adherence to some current rules, a call for tightened guidance could appear appropriate. However, while both funding and oversight could play a role in improvement, both miss an essential aspect of education.
In the same way that passengers on a plane are flown by pilots, special education supports and services are planned, delivered and evaluated by classroom teachers in conjunction with other educators. These supports and services enable educational access, opportunity and growth for the over 350,000 students with special education needs in Ontario. This is to say, special education supports and services happen because teachers make them happen.
And these teachers, like all professionals, require adequate training and support to grow and thrive in the job. Ontario's auditor general's report also named other key issues related to special needs education, such as: Beyond the audit report, issues with special education delivery have been a regular occurrence in the news, including stories about seclusion and restraint among other safety concerns and unexpected program closures. Tensions between expectations and realities of educational supports that are supposed to be "special" and tailored for students with unique learning needs are not new.
Special education has evolved since its formal inception in Ontario in the 1980s. During this era and beforehand, students with disabilities received education and care outside of the general education classroom, sometimes in separate schools or institutional settings. Discover the latest in science, tech, and space with over 100,000 subscribers who rely on Phys.org for daily insights. d research that matter—daily or weekly.
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