A rare decision by an appeal board ordering the Thames Valley District school board to give more services to a pupil with special needs should give hope to other parents, a special needs volunteer says.
“The fact that this was successful was a huge step,” said Beth Mai, who has been working with the pupil’s family to acquire more services. “This is a beacon for families that are trying to get needs met.”
The Thames Valley District school board confirmed this is the first special education appeal in five years.
In June, a special education appeal board determined more supports are needed for a 12-year-old Thames Valley pupil with multiple special needs, Mai said.
The decision, released in June, stated “there is clear evidence that (name redacted) needs have not been met within a regular classroom with indirect supports.”
While the child’s needs are not specified, special needs categories include autism, intellectual disability, deafness, blindness and gifted.
“It is encouraging to have validation from outside the community that this child’s needs needed to be met in a different way,” Mai said. “(It’s important) parents know this is possible. Most parents don’t even know they can (appeal).”
Mai, who is running this fall for school board trustee, is president of the volunteer-led London chapter of the Association for Bright Children of Ontario and a member of the Thames Valley board’s special education advisory committee.
The pupil’s family reached out to senior staff last fall with concerns about his education, said the boy’s mother, who doesn’t want her name published to protect her son’s identity.
May said the family turned down services that did not meet their needs several years ago, and in May the board offered a placement in a special-needs classroom.
“Children with complex needs require a co-ordinated team approach, with expertise from all service providers at the table,” Mai said.
The pupil’s parents are considering whether they will accept the latest offer or advocate for more help, such as staying in his home school while receiving “supports and services that meet his readiness to learn,” Mai said.
The Thames Valley board said it could not go into detail on the appeal due to privacy issues but emailed a statement from Andrew Canham, superintendent of special education.
“All students in our schools, regardless of background or ability, will have the opportunity to develop the skills, attitudes and knowledge required to live up to their full potential and provide meaningful access to education,” he said. “The decision of the appeal board is consistent with the approach we have been taking and we are fully supportive of this decision as it aligns with our initial recommendation and placement offer.”
In the 2022-2023 school board budget, special education expenses exceed ministry grants by $3 million.
A one-time system investment of $350,000 was also allocated to four full-time positions to support special education, Canham said.
Jacqueline Specht, director of the Canadian Research Center on Inclusive Education at Western University, said “research shows inclusive education is better education” for both students and teachers.
“Everything we know shows that kids with special needs who are in regular classrooms do better in those classrooms,” she said. “And the kids without special education needs to have better connections. Kids do better academically and socially and learn more about differences. But we still need to support those kids.”
Earlier this year May was critical of the board’s special education plan for 2022-2023, saying it lacks several elements required by Ontario’s Education Ministry.
At the time, Canham said he “was confident (the plan) was compliant.”
“It’s always been an excellent plan,” he said, noting it already had been accepted by the ministry.
Thames Valley trustees approved the plan in June, but tacked on some conditions, following a critical report by May and special education advisory committee chair Christine Thammavongsa.
Trustees unanimously voted in favor of three secondary motions that would ensure a report reviewing the education plan’s details would be released by October.