Debates of October 12, 2005 (day 8)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question today is for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. It is in regard to the Member’s statement I made earlier. Mr. Speaker, it never ceases to amaze me how in government we often throw money at things hoping that that would fix things. Only six years ago, when I got here, our first budget for the NWT post-division was around $700 million. Now we have increased it to almost $1.2 billion. I think it is incumbent on us to make sure that the money we are spending is going to the right places, doing the right thing and doing the things that we want them to do. One of the areas that I pointed out is with respect to this special needs funding where we have seen a 100 percent increase in funding, give or take, from eight percent to 15 percent. I know that the Minister is working to increase that more. I know that the Minister is working to reduce the PTR and such, but I am not at all convinced that we know exactly what we are doing with this money. Especially when I talk to school boards, they don’t really know exactly where the money is going. In Education, I don’t believe the department knows exactly and the Teachers' Association don’t know exactly how this is happening. I would like to ask the Minister what steps he has taken or what is his knowledge of where this money is going and how it is helping the students with special needs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent.

Return To Question 89-15(4): Helping Students With Special Needs

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I just want to make it clear just so that everybody understands that the amount of funding that we put into the program is 15 percent of the total amount provided to schools. Funding is not just provided for 15 percent of the students who may be in need of support. Section 7 of the Education Act says that every student is entitled to have access to the education program in a regular instructional setting in the community in which the student resides, and that an education body shall provide a student with the support services necessary to give effect in accordance with the direction of the Minister. That means that every student is supposed to be receiving support right now.

We had a survey that was conducted in the year 2000 to assess the needs in the classroom. That was one of the reasons that the amount of funding was increased from eight percent to 15 percent. We are planning to continue to conduct that sort of survey on a regular basis. We will be doing one again this year.

In terms of accountability, we have a very extensive directive on inclusive schooling that is provided to all divisional educational councils or DEAs. They must follow that directive in order to qualify for the funding, and we demand accountability. We require the DECs and DEAs to report back to the department. So, yes, we are aware of how the money is being spent. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Supplementary To Question 89-15(4): Helping Students With Special Needs

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister read out the provision that states that every student who is in need of special needs support has to be receiving it. I suggest to the Minister and this government and even this Legislature that we are not living up to that legislative requirement, Mr. Speaker. There are many cases, and I am sure we could all name students from our very own region who, even from a layperson’s view, are in need of special needs and they don’t get them. There are students in our school system with autism without special needs support. Mr. Speaker, by writing a directive to schools, how does he know where the money is going? Does he know what students need special needs and whether they get them or not? Does he know that, Mr. Speaker?

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 89-15(4): Helping Students With Special Needs

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Education, Culture and Employment doesn’t keep statistics on an individual that would tell us whether or not they may need a certain level of support. What we do with the funding formula is provide assistance to boards to provide staffing for student support personnel who are consultants or program support teachers. We provide funding for materials and specialized equipment for staff development and so on. If the Member is asking about students who may have physical challenges that would be health related, then that isn’t necessarily something that Education, Culture and Employment is providing the funding for. But we do provide formula funding, as I said, for support services to students in a broad area that is supposed to include student services for all students. So the bottom line is that education authorities are responsible for providing whatever services are necessary to help students gain an education. Now, do I disagree with the Member that the funding may not be adequate? No. I would certainly like to see the money increased. I think that we will be able to demonstrate that it can be well used. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Your supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Supplementary To Question 89-15(4): Helping Students With Special Needs

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that the Minister works hard to increase funding in special needs, but the Minister has even admitted himself that he has an obligation. We have an obligation to students to provide support to those who need it, and obviously we are not meeting that. I am thinking that the only way we are going to know whether we are meeting them or not, we have to know what the needs are. I am telling you, Mr. Speaker, there are classrooms in our territory where there might be 50 percent of students who need special needs funding, and 10 percent, 15 percent, or eight percent is arbitrary. Will the Minister look into finding out exactly what the needs of special needs students are in the Territories within the next six months? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 89-15(4): Helping Students With Special Needs

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I meet twice a year with the chairs of the divisional educational councils. They tell me what the needs are in the classroom. We surveyed the teachers in the year 2000 to find out what the needs are in the classroom. I have already said to the Member today that we are going to do that this year. So five years after, we are updating the survey so that we will have an understanding of exactly what the needs are in the classroom. So, yes, we are working to make sure that our programming is designed to deal with the challenges that teachers face in the North. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Your final supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Supplementary To Question 89-15(4): Helping Students With Special Needs

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to get clarification from the Minister. He indicates that he talks to the chairs of school boards and such. I hope he is not saying that the school board chairs or any of the education professionals have been telling him that the extent of needs for special needs funding is no more than 15 percent. I hope he is not saying that. If he is looking into this question, will he make a commitment that he will live up to the obligation to provide support to students who need it and that he will provide support to every student who needs it once he finds out what the needs are within the next six months, not at the end of the school year? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 89-15(4): Helping Students With Special Needs

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am not going to embark on a formal assessment process that would take millions of dollars to assess the special needs of every student. Teachers and educators are qualified to tell us what they need in their classroom to get the job done. That is what we are going to depend on. We have used that method of determining how we should support special needs and will continue to do that. I am quite anxious, like the Member, to see us be able to better support the needs of students in the classroom. Thank you.