As most students were decorating their locker doors or reconnecting with friends after a summer away from classes, St. Albert’s Simon Wray was in a fight to even go to school.
The 12-year-old with Asperger’s syndrome had registered at Edmonton’s Victoria School of Arts and was set to begin the school year with many Alberta students last week. Unfortunately, just days before classes were scheduled to start, Wray was out in the cold. The Edmonton school had revoked his registration.
It didn’t come to space or resources but money, which seems ironic considering Alberta is supposed to have a publicly-funded education system. At first it was unclear what the issue was, considering government education funding follows the student in this province.
The dispute over funding between St. Albert Public and Edmonton Public School boards revealed a gap in provincial special needs funding, especially considering there were no issues with his brother’s registration. The only difference in the two cases is Simon’s brother does not have a special need.
According to St. Albert Public Schools, the division was not holding back money earmarked for Simon’s education that it receives from the province. It couldn’t even if it wanted to, the province funds schools based on enrolment and Simon was enrolled in Edmonton, or at least should have been.
Instead, as per its policies, St. Albert Public had not paid a requested sponsorship fee requested by Edmonton Public Schools. That money is reserved for special needs funding for students attending school here in the city, or students attending schools outside the city if our board is unable to meet its needs. It’s a reasonable policy.
Edmonton Public’s policy on non-resident students states that the district enters sponsorship agreements with other boards to provide instruction for non-resident special needs students. Those agreements involve fees of $13,000 to $36,000, suggested a June 2015 report to the Edmonton Public board.
If that actually represents the additional costs incurred by the district to accommodate especial needs students, it demonstrates a serious funding gap and limits parents’ choice to decide the best education opportunities for their children. It also creates an environment that is discriminatory toward special needs students. That environment is contrary to Edmonton’s policy on inclusion, which states, “The Board of Trustees is committed to inclusive education. The Board of Trustees expects the District to be an inclusive education system with its values reflected in District programs, operations and practices.”
While Simon’s case is unfortunate some good might come of it. When the provincial government got wind of the issue it stepped into resolve Simon’s dispute and he will be attending the Victoria School of the Arts after all.
But it didn’t end there. Education Minister David Eggen said the incident revealed procedural gaps in the funding system for special needs students. He then committed to a review of the province’s school funding formula.
We encourage the province to not only follow through on that commitment but to do it sooner than later. Stories such as Simon’s should not happen in a publicly funded and truly inclusive school system.
