BCACL Responds to Articles Targeting Students with Special Needs

Links to Recent Articles in the Province Newspaper

BC Government has special-needs problem -Michael Smyth, the Province

Regular Kids Need Help - Letter by Jill Ewart, Surrey teacher

Responses

Special-needs kids' biggest problem is cuts in funding - Letter by Dawn Steele

Clark's Call - Letter from Susan Lambert, BCTF

Other Resources

Parent's Handbook on Inclusive Education

Website links

Education Resources on BCACL website

The BC Association for Community Living was shocked that the Province chose to print two articles that aggressively targeted students with special needs. Both articles reject the guaranteed human right that individuals with developmental disabilities have to an inclusive education. “Government has Special Needs Problem” (Michael Smyth) and the letter, “Regular Kids Need Help” (Jill Ewart) were assaults – offensively titled, at that – on a vulnerable group that has historically and systematically been stripped of their human rights.

Both articles rest on the false assumption that the full inclusion of students with special needs in regular classes negatively affects the achievement of “regular” students. This is an outdated notion and a discriminatory assumption that is based on simple bias. Numerous studies (one most recently from Simon Fraser University) show that the presence of students with special needs in classrooms does not negatively impact educational outcomes for other students (Friesen, Hickey & Krauth, 2009). In fact, we are just now beginning to see and to understand the benefits of having classrooms reflect the full diversity of our communities.

The right of all children to an inclusive education is guaranteed in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (section 15, see Hewko v. B.C. for precedent) the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (article 24) and in Provincial Legislation (BC School Act, Ministerial Order 150). Whether or not a child with special needs should be included in a “regular” classroom is not negotiable; it is a human right.

Interestingly, Smyth’s article rests on assumptions that neither the BC Teachers Federation nor the Province of BC supports. Both groups are guided by principles of inclusion and the responsibility of educators to teach all students:

1. BC Teachers Federation: “B.C. teachers believe in inclusion and have adopted a policy that every student is entitled to an appropriate education. Students with special needs have a right to access an inclusionary public education system which prepares them for full citizenship in a democratic society.”

2. BC Ministry of Education: “Inclusion is the value system which holds that all students are entitled to equitable access to learning, achievement and the pursuit of excellence in all aspects of their education. The practice of inclusion transcends the idea of physical location, and incorporates basic values that promote participation, friendship and interaction.”

There is no question that many educators are struggling to meet the needs of increasingly diverse classrooms. However, we have a responsibility to ensure all educators have the resources, training and supports they need to provide a quality, inclusive education for all students. Class composition is not the problem. The failure of the education system to respond to the needs of all students is the problem. We need to stop talking about whether or not to include students with special needs and start looking at ways to do it better.

The incidence of disability has dramatically increased since the 80’s due to better diagnostic services and medical advances; we simply know more now. Class composition ratios that were intended to prevent the segregation of students with disabilities by attempting to reflect natural proportions of students with and without disabilities in a classroom are now being used to discriminate against the rising minority of children in our communities who have medical and cognitive challenges. We know more about how to detect, support and treat children and adults with a range of conditions. Let’s use this knowledge to benefit everyone.