Emerging Trends and Issues

20Putting the Individual First

Key features related to IEPs are as followed:

Promotes collaboration by including multiple parties in the plan,

Identified developmental milestones and support/ accommodations to support achieving these milestone,

Identifies responsible parties, their roles and hand-offs in executing on the plan, and

Measures progress based on a baseline.

Schools unable to support IEPs given lack of resources (e.g., not enough Educational Assistants; need for parental consent),

Logistic and resource issues related to bringing in outside, mostly health funded, support (e.g., scheduling or physiotherapy and speech and language supports)

No formal appeal processes for parents who wish to question the identified plan and associated support, and

No clear connection between school and workforce planning.

IEPs are a tool that most advanced school systems are using to accommodate the needs of special need students. These plans are meant to be the guiding plan for a child’s development in a school setting. They set the guidelines for individualized support and success and ensure that decision-making is done in an inclusive manner. As highlighted in the policies put forward in the United States, IEPs are meant to ensure meaningful participation.

21Targeted Financial Support: Grants, Specialized Programs/ Streams and Individual Loan Programs

Although access to publically funded education should not come with additional costs, the reality for families who are supporting a child with special needs is that this is not the case. According to the Fraser Institute, the annual cost of raising a child in Canada or the United States is between $10, 000 - $15, 000.⁴⁸ Depending on a child’s special needs diagnosis and recommended treatment plan, additional costs from specialized equipment, non-funded services, and private support workers can leave families with high expense. According to Autism Speaks it costs approximately $60, 000 a year to support a child with ASD.⁴⁹ Although most jurisdictions with advanced special needs programming have standalone funding envelopes to support universal programming and individual needs in both elementary/ secondary and post-secondary institutions, it is often not enough to cover all the costs associated with meaningful participation and growth. Recognizing the financial strain associated costs can have on a family, many governments and not-for-profit organizations offer targeted supports for families and individuals with special needs. These support aim to alleviate some of the direct costs associated with living with a disability and aim to address potential economic loss that can emerge as a barrier to educational success as a result of a disability. Assistance programs recognize the vast range of costs associated with learning. These programs range from assisted device programs, software upgrades, specialized furniture, and general costs.

Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children (Singapore)

Singapore’s 2014 budget outlined that middle-income households that have family members with disabilities will benefit from Government help. They will get a further 20 to 50 percent subsidy for the early education of their children with special needs, through the Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children (EIPIC). This is on top of an enhanced $500 base subsidy that benefits all Singaporean children enrolled in an early intervention program. For a middle-income households with a per capita monthly income of $1,875, their monthly education costs will be reduced by half from $600 to less than $300 per month, depending on the services required by their child. Lower-income households will also receive a reduction in their monthly expenses. They pay a monthly fee of as low as $3, in contrast to the previous $50 monthly fee.

Child Benefit Allowance (Germany)

In Germany, parents can claim a continued child benefit allowance (Kindergeld) for children with disabilities over the age of 27 if they are unable to care for themselves and the disability occurred before the age of 27. Should the person with a disability receive income that exceeds EUR7,680 they will no longer be entitled to this allowance. Parents may also be entitled to care insurance (Pflegeversicherung) payments, if they can prove that caring for their disabled child is considerably more time-consuming than for a non-disabled child of the same age.

Many jurisdictions also offer targeted loan forgiveness or loans for special needs students to attend and succeed in post-secondary education. Examples include:

Canada Student Loans for Students with Permanent Disabilities (Government of Canada)⁵⁰

The Canada Student Loans Program recognizes that physical and learning disabilities may mean that it takes longer to complete a program of study. As a student with a permanent disability in Newfoundland and Labrador, educed requirements include:

For full-time funding: students must be enrolled in at least 40 percent of a full course load.

For part-time funding: students must be enrolled in between 20 percent to 39 percent of a full course load. However, if students are studying 40 percent to 59 percent of a full course load, students can choose to be considered a part-time student.

To accommodate a reduced course load, students have an extended eligibility of up to 520 weeks of study.

Repayment Assistance Plan for Borrowers with Permanent Disabilities⁵¹

Students with permanent disabilities who are having difficulty paying back their student loans are eligible for the Repayment Assistance Plan for Borrowers with Permanent Disabilities (RAP-PD). RAP-PD makes debt repayment easier for students with permanent disabilities by allowing them to pay back what they can reasonable afford.

Assistance Program for Students with Disabilities (APSD) (British Columbia)

The APSD program is a provincially funded, financial needs tested program for students with permanent disabilities attending public post-secondary schools.

This program offers a grant of up to $12,000 a year to assist with exceptional education- related costs of having a disability. These costs may include equipment and services needed to access post-secondary education, such as note takers, tutors, readers, attendant care, specialized transportation and / or technical aids.

The Disabled Students’ Allowance (UK)

In the UK, Disabled Students' Allowances provide extra financial help if a student has an impairment, health condition (including mental health conditions) or a specific learning difficulty like dyslexia. It is paid on top of the standard student finance package and do not have to be repaid.

Costs associated with accessible education can be a barrier to a student’s success. Most jurisdictions have acknowledged this, especially within post-secondary education, and have addressed cost related barriers through targeted assistance. As need for services and specialized technologies continue to grow, issues related to cost increase and timely access are emerging.

22Defining and implementing reasonable accommodations

When a student with disabilities seeks to join school, at the elementary, secondary, and post-secondary level, it is expected that schools will make the necessary accommodation to support students. In practice, the implementation of accommodations is not always a straightforward process. The literature review and jurisdictional scan found that there can be backed up accumulation of claims for special education funding, extensive wait lists to meet with professionals, and delays in providing special education services. In Ontario, parents have reported that principals have outright stated that they are unable to provide special education services. Parents can face disagreements with schools on what accommodations are needed and reasonable. Low funding is identified as the main reason for failures to provide accommodation in elementary and secondary school. Failure to provide accommodation cause distress for the student with disabilities and her family, as well as delays in his development that can have lifelong repercussions. ⁵² In the jurisdictional scan, there was a lack of definition of what the minimum is for reasonable accommodation, leaving room for interpretation and disputes.

23Technology (web accessibility, use in classroom and training for assistive technologies)

As highlighted in Ontario’s Customer Service Standard, access to information in an accessible format remains a barrier for Ontarians with a disability. As learning tools and research moves online, accessibility and access remains an issue for students with a disability. These issues transcend into the school system. Numerous programs exist to alleviate the pressure and cost associated with changing assistive devices but according to People for Education, over 1/3 of Ontario’s schools are unable to meet the technology needs of students with special needs⁵³. This means that students IEPs are not being accommodated due to access, training and adaptability issues. Availability of needed technology also differs by school, student, facility and willingness to accommodate. Theses issue are apparent both at the K – 12 and post-secondary stages with different level of support and accommodation.

Examples of providing assistive technologies in other jurisdictions:

In the Northwest Territories, a not-for-profit organization works to bring assistive technology to students to support literacy.

Assistive Technology British Columbia is a Government initiative to provide adaptive equipment for on-site use to support post-secondary students or employees who have a disability. The aim is to reduce barriers in reaching educational and vocational goals. The program houses a loan bank of adaptive technology that eligible students and employees can access through referring agents (disability service coordinators, or EPPD. Support services for adaptive equipment include consultation, in-service and training.

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strong-effective-aoda -> Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance

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