More support for our struggling students!
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Across Ontario, thousands of students are not getting the classroom support they need to succeed in our public education system. According to "Mind the Gap," People for Education's Annual Report on Ontario education, the average ratio per elementary school of special education students to special education teachers has risen from 22 to 1, in 2001, to 36 to 1 in 2013. (A special education student is one who has individual needs in the classroom, with regards to academics, behaviour, emotional regulation, etc.) Without adequate support for their needs, these students are unable to succeed or reach their learning potential in the classroom.
Children that require extra emotional and/or academic assistance in the classroom are waiting as long as three years to receive a psycho-educational assessment. In 2013, 38,000 Ontario students were on special education waiting lists. For example,a grade-two student who is having difficulty learning to read is not eligible for in-class support as they wait for an assessment. As they wait, they continue to fall further behind the rest of their classmates.
The Ontario Education Act stipulates that it is "the responsibility of school boards to provide (or agree with another board to provide) in accordance with the regulations, special education programs and special education services for their exceptional pupils." Let's provide schools the funding they need to make this possible!
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