Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The current GNWT directive on inclusive schooling states the following: “Inclusive schooling is intended to ensure equal access for all students to educational programs offered in regular classroom settings.” This very statement is symbolic of what is wrong with how inclusive schooling in the NWT is currently being funded and addressed at the department level.
It is time to revisit and redefine the directive and the funding formula for inclusive schooling. We must consider this, also from the ECE directive, “What inclusion is not:
It does not mean having all students learn the same thing at the same time in the same way.
It is not simply placing students with exceptional needs into the regular classroom without essential supports and services.
It is not an easy solution for meeting the needs of exceptional students.
It is not the sole responsibility of the classroom teacher.
It is not the sole responsibility of the student support assistant.”
What I hear from teachers, students, parents and community members is that this is now what inclusive schooling looks like in many classrooms in the NWT. In the absence of adequate classroom support staff and an appropriate funding formula, the students are being shortchanged under this directive.
Inclusive schooling should not be about ensuring equal access, it should be ensuring equity for NWT students. “Equity does not mean treating all students in the same way, but rather responding to the individual needs of each student and providing the conditions and interventions needed to help him or her succeed.” That’s from Ontario’s Inclusive Education Strategy.
I want to share a statement to me from a parent who is struggling with an inadequate learning environment for her child. She says, “I urge you to reconsider the current funding allocation for children with special needs. My son is not getting the education he needs to prepare him for life and what it holds for him. This will severely restrict his ability to make a living and support himself.”
I know educators, parents, education councils, authorities and board members want the best for the children in their care. In order for teachers to do that, to properly respond to individual student needs, existing barriers must be identified and eliminated.
I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
This means the department has to work with those education councils, authorities and boards to come up with a funding formula that ensures success for NWT students. I have the following question for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment: Will you revise our approach to inclusive schooling to ensure all of our students can achieve success?
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.
