New report released on Ontario public schools
June 8, 2011
A major report has been released by
People for Education regarding publicly funded schools in Ontario. Every
year for the past 15 years, Ontario principals and parents have filled
out annual public school surveys. Their work is the basis of this
report.
This year's Annual Report on Ontario's Publicly Funded
Schools shows that there have been some improvements in Ontario schools
in 2011, but poverty and systemic inequalities continue to have far
reaching effects on Ontario students.
Torstar Network article: June 1, 2011
Special ed funding falling short
With a major report coming
out today on special education in Ontario, the chair of the Peel
District School Board is appealing once again for more equitable funding
as it struggles to provide help for its most vulnerable students.
Schools in low-income
neighbourhoods in Ontario have waiting lists for special education
services that are twice as long as those in more affluent schools, and
the help those students receive is more likely to be inadequate, says a
province-wide report to be released today.
"The average number of
children on special-education waiting lists in high-poverty schools (10)
is more than double the average number of children (four) per
low-poverty school," says the study by People for Education, a research
and advocacy group that compared special education services and school
demographics.
The report also says "28 per
cent of high-poverty schools report they have identified students who
are not receiving the recommended support, again, double the percentage
of low-poverty schools."
The group's executive
director, Annie Kidder, said the findings are troubling, given that
public education is supposed to be equitable.
"Waiting lists for special
education are hugely problematic," Kidder said. "Ten sounds like a small
number of students to have on a waiting list, but when you multiply that
by the number of schools in Ontario, it's significant."
As for reasons why the wait
lists would be longer and the services often inadequate, Kidder said
it's a "worrying possibility" that parents in more affluent areas may
have a higher level of comfort with the system that allows them to
advocate for their kids, or even pay out-of-pocket for private
assessments.
The report says some large
urban boards, such as Peel and the Dufferin-Peel Catholic system, also
dipped into other areas of their budgets to cover special education.
In 2010-11, the Peel public
board received $159 million, but spent almost $175 million.
That's in part because the
province is using outdated census figures to establish most of the
funding, said board chair Janet McDougald.
The Peel board has
experienced an enrollment boom in recent years, and funding simply
hasn't matched needs. Peel's own figures show that, on a per-capita
basis, it receives the least special-education funding in Ontario.
"This is obviously disturbing
for us," said McDougald. The Mississauga Wards 1 and 7 trustee is hoping
the board will find the resources to hire someone to work with schools
and help coordinate mental-health treatment with community agencies.
"We are seeing children with
depression and those kinds of mental health issues as young as 4," she
said.
Her concerns echo those of a
growing number of educators.
A new network of 26
provincial groups including hospitals, school boards, student groups and
children's aid societies, calls mental health the No. 1 issue in schools
today.
Mike Feenstra, spokesperson
for Education Minister Leona Dombrowsky, said the province has increased
special-education funding and is still working with boards to ensure
students needs are met.
The province allotted some
$2.2 billion to Ontario's school boards for special education in
2009-10.
People for Education found
that almost all boards - 67 of 72 - spend $174 million more in total on
special education than the province provides, with five of the biggest
boards, including Peel, spending more than $10 million each.
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Read online: http://www.mississauga.com/news/article/1018003--special-ed-funding-falling-short
Download the full People for
Education report:
http://www.peopleforeducation.com/annualreport/ONpublicschools2011
