Directorate of Ontario
Newfoundland and Labrador
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- The Individual Support Services Planning Process 136
- Accessibility for All in the Built Environment
- Alternate Format Materials 139
- Inclusive Education Initiative 140 , 141
- Service Delivery Model for Student with Exceptionalities 142
- Individual Education Plan
- Atlantic Provinces Special Education Authority (APSEA) 143
- Grants and Loans 144
- Post-Secondary Education Case Studies
- College of the North Atlantic: Disability Services
- Disability Resource Centers
50Newfoundland and LabradorGovernment Programs and PoliciesDepartment of Education and Early Childhood Development135Department of Education, Student Support Services Division, develops policies and protocols for teaching students with exceptionalities. Students with an exceptionality may access a range of school-based services depending on the degree of severity. The following exceptionalities are recognized by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development: harassment by employees or students on school property or at school functions and Acquired Brain Injury Developmental Delay Gifted and Talented Hearing Loss Medical Condition Mental Illness/Mental Health Neurodevelopmental and Related Disorders Intellectual Disability Specific Learning Disorder Physical Disability Speech and/or Language Disorder Vision Loss The Individual Support Services Planning Process136The individual support services planning process is a method used to identify the child‘s/youths strengths and needs and to prepare an integrated approach to meet those needs. Provincial Strategy137,138The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is committed to enhancing the inclusion of persons with disabilities in all aspects of society. This commitment included engaging persons with disabilities in developing recommendations and strategies to address barriers to public services, education and employment. The Government conducted fully accessible public consultations in the fall 2010. Following consultations, a ‘What The company Heard’ report was developed which outlined the rich information gathered through the consultation process. This information, focusing on solutions for removing and preventing barriers, became the foundation for 'Access. Inclusion. Equality. Provincial Strategy for the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities'. This strategy provides a framework for a long-term, sustainable approach to achieving the vision of a fully inclusive province where individuals with disabilities have the same opportunities and choices on an equal basis as others. Accessibility for All in the Built EnvironmentPeople with disabilities frequently experience limited access to community activities, employment, transportation, housing and education because of inaccessible buildings and facilities. Universal Design was consistently brought forward during the provincial consultations as a solution for making buildings and places where people live, work and play more accessible. By following Universal Design principles, physical environments, infrastructures, products and programs are, as much as possible, useable by all people without the need for adapted or specialized design. This means that regardless of a disability, people can use buildings, programs and products on an equal basis with others. Accessible transportation is essential for people to be able to travel within their own communities and throughout the province. Whether for education, work, health care or leisure, transportation can be the key to participation. Alternate Format Materials139The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, through its AFM Library, provides service to students unable “to hold or manipulate a book” and students with “an impairment relating to comprehension”. The Department ‘s AFM library provides these students access to authorized curriculum resources in alternate format through a traditional off-line library (CDs mailed to schools) and an on-line digital repository (materials accessed on the web in formats such as MP3 and PDF). Many students with disabilities encounter barriers with traditional print materials. Students with certain disabilities (known as perceptual disabilities) may not be able to use textbooks, class handouts, and other materials in its original form and instead the materials need to be provided in an alternate format. Some examples of alternate format materials (AFM) include Braille, audio books, and digital versions of books that can be read by text to voice software. Inclusive Education Initiative140, 141In March 2009, the Inclusive Education Initiative began with the goal of making schools in Newfoundland and Labrador places where all members of the school community feel safe, accepted and included. A phase-in approach was adopted with new schools joining the initiative each year until June 2017, when representatives from all public schools will have received training in inclusive practices, differentiated instruction and collaborative teaching. The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development defines inclusive education as a philosophy that promotes: The right of all students to attend school with their competitors, and to receive appropriate and quality programming, A continuum of supports and services in the most appropriate setting (large group, small group, individualized) respecting the dignity of the child, A welcoming school culture where all members of the school community feel they belong, realize their potential, and contribute to the life of the school, An atmosphere which respects and values the participation of all members of the school community; A school community which celebrates diversity, and A safe and caring school environment. For students with exceptionalities, inclusive education does not mean that every student is required or expected to be in the regular classroom 100 percent of the time. Some students, whether for medical, academic, social or emotional reasons, need individualized or small group instruction periodically, in order for their needs to be met. Itinerants for Inclusive Education are responsible for supporting schools as they implement an inclusive education framework. They provide continuous and direct support to all schools involved in the initiative through school visits, collaboration with teachers and school teams, and provision of in-service and professional development sessions. While priority for training will be given to new schools, Itinerants for Inclusive Education remain available to assist schools trained in earlier phases. Service Delivery Model for Student with Exceptionalities142The Service Delivery Model for Students with Exceptionalities (2012) is a collaborative project between all divisions of the K-12 Branch of the Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Education. The model supports a philosophy of inclusive education. It provides an inclusive framework for program delivery. It identifies prescribed curriculum, accommodations, modified prescribed curriculum and alternate programs, courses, and curriculum. The education of students with exceptionalities is a shared responsibility among school staff, parents and the community at large. The Service Delivery Model for Students with Exceptionalities is a tool that describes programming options for students in Kindergarten to Grade 12 who meet the criteria for an exceptionality as defined by the Department of Education. An exceptionality is a term used by the Department of Education to identify patterns of strengths and needs common to groups of students. These strengths and needs may be cognitive, emotional, behavioural, medical, social, and/or physical. Students with an exceptionality may access a range of school-based services depending on the students’ needs and level of functioning. 
Accommodations are adaptations to the learning environment that address particular student strengths and needs. These may include physical arrangements, assistive technology, particular instructional strategies and others. Such accommodations are available for students with exceptionalities in all areas of study whether prescribed, modified prescribed, or alternate. The circle that surrounds the diamond indicates that collaboration is vital to the success of all students. Collaboration is the process of merging the knowledge, experience and skills of all partners to meet common goals. This includes collaboration among students, teachers, parents, and all other members of the school community. Individual Education PlanAn Individual Education Plan (IEP) is a document that records and tracks the educational supports and services provided to a student. An IEP is required for students with identified exceptionalities who are receiving modified prescribed courses and/or alternate programs, courses and curriculum. An IEP is an “education only” document. The Newfoundland and Labrador Service Delivery Model documents used in an IEP include: IEP Summary Record of Accommodations Record of Modified Prescribed Course Record of Alternate Program Record of Alternate Course Record of Alternate Curriculum These are the working documents used by educators in delivering educational programming and become part of the students IEP. Atlantic Provinces Special Education Authority (APSEA)143Established in 1975 by joint agreement between the Ministers of Education of New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island, the APSEA serves students who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf blind, blind, or visually impaired with focus on AT services. Grants and Loans144In 2009, Newfoundland and Labrador allocated $5.3 million over three years to support the implementation of the recommendations of the ISSP/Pathways report regarding the delivery of programming and supports to students with special needs.145 In the 2011 Budget, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador committed to $400,000 in interim funding to begin the implementation of the Provincial Strategy for the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities.146 Post-Secondary Education Case StudiesMemorial University of NewfoundlandMemorial's Web Content Services team works to ensure all users, regardless of their technical set-up or disabilities, students with disabilities can access the information on Memorial University Homepage. The company‘s web developers follow the standards established by the World Wide Web Consortium (WC3). Templates on Memorial University Homepage are designed to meet and exceed basic accessibility requirements set by the W3C and by federal and provincial governments for public websites. Additional standards have been incorporated such as cascading style sheets to separate content from design/structure, providing an alternative print style sheet, colour and usability enhancements. Throughout development, templates are checked for accessibility compliance from an automatic and a manual checkpoint perspective to ensure they meet known legislated and recommended standards.147
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