Complex needs have been a big discussion between teachers and the provincial government over the last year.
Classroom size and complexity was the largest point of contention when it came to contract negotiations with the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) and the government, resulting in strikes, work to rule and more.
And while binding arbitration between the two sides is set for later this month, it doesn’t mean the needs go away.
For Lindsay Klassen, the Saskatchewan education system has reached a breaking point.
This week Klassen was invited to the Saskatchewan Legislature by the NDP to share her experience as a parent who has a child with complex needs.
“I want to shine a light on the stories that aren’t being heard,” she said. “Our children are being pushed out of schools because of the lack of funding.”
Klassen explained how her son’s school in Saskatoon told her they don’t have the funding or resources to supply an educational assistant to take care of her son in the afternoon and instead sent him home.
“It’s a system-wide issue,” Klassen said. “I’ve called the school board; I’ve talked to the school, and I even talked with a company called Inclusion Saskatchewan. From what I’m told there’s at least 500 students in Saskatchewan that this is happening to.”
When asked about taking her issues straight to the government, Klassen said hopefully change happens soon.
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“To be honest I never imagined that I would be in this position myself. And I never imagined that I’d have to go this far with it,” she explained. “But I did feel it was necessary to speak up for my son and for all the families that are facing the same challenge.”
STF president Samantha Becotte said while we have seen some improvements with the education system over the last year, there is still a real shortage of professional supports.
“Schools are still triaging student needs and only those with the highest needs have access to EA supports and often times that might not be full-time support,” Becotte said. “If a student requires EA supports and doesn’t have access to it, then those responsibilities fall on the teacher in the classroom to provide additional help to that individual student.
“It means that they don’t have the time or capacity to get around to all of the other students in the classroom. And so, everyone’s education is impacted when we see chronic underfunding and cuts to the professional services that we have available to us in schools.”
In a statement from the Government of Saskatchewan, they say education is a shared responsibility between the Ministry of Education and locally-elected boards of education.
“The Ministry provides grant funding to local divisions while School Divisions are responsible for making staffing decisions to best support the local needs and priorities of the school which includes the hiring of staff,” the statement reads.
“The Government of Saskatchewan will continue to work with our School Boards to ensure that Saskatchewan students have the supports they need.”
In a statement from Saskatoon Public Schools, they say only 33 additional EAs were hired this year. They also addressed when students are kept home.
“There are situations where some students are on an altered or shortened schedule. Lack of funding for the needed supports is one of the reasons why – but there can also be other factors,” the statement reads.
“Our school teams work with families to address every student’s individual learning needs and formulate a plan that, based on evidence and experience, will best support the student’s success. The goal is always to have students attend full-time.
“However, there is no doubt that we would benefit from additional funding for classroom supports, including Educational Assistants. Our board has been advocating to the government for increased funding for Supports for Learning for several years now.”
The statement said as of September 30, there were 618 students in Saskatoon Public Schools that require 1:1 continuous support from the time they arrive at school to the time they leave.
“Our current budget allocation for this category is 473 EAs.”
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