Sask. parents of autistic children denounce lack of specialized learning in schools

Parents of children with autism joined MLAs in the legislature on Wednesday to rally against cuts for specialized learning in schools.

Before the legislative assembly, NDP MLA and Education Critic Matt Love met with the parents to discuss the impacts of the lack of support for students with complex needs.

“The Sask. Party government has been cutting per student funding for the better part of a decade,” Love said. “Kids with complex needs have suffered the most.”

“Failing to help our kids with the most complex needs creates a domino effect that’s felt by everyone.”

B-j Diduck is a mother of three autistic children who attend specialized classrooms in Saskatoon. One child attends John Dolan School, which has about 60 students with complex disabilities ranging from age five to 21, 11 teachers, and 53 educational assistants.

Communication at the school includes braille, sign language, picture exchange, and other devices including iPads with a communication app.

Diduck said children at the school also have access to specialists including physical therapy, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, and two registered nurses.

“Although we have all had wonderful teachers and EAs trying to educate our students in the past, they simply don’t have the resources and training to support the complex needs of our students,” she said.

She said John Dolan School ran about a $2.3 million shortfall last year and there are currently 18 students on the waitlist.

Katie Emde, a mother of three from Midale, Sask. has two sons on the autism spectrum.

“Through the years, I have watched all of my children, but my children with complex needs, my two boys on the autism spectrum, struggle immensely to thrive and succeed in the education system,” she said.

She said the government has not properly funded the education system which has trickled down into schools across the province. Her 13-year-old son hasn’t been able to attend school for 10 months because the supports he needs aren’t available at his local school.

”He’s unable to attend school and be safe and well-educated,” she said, noting that they decided to pull him out of school in November of last year.

“He had reached a point where he was unable to safely attend school and was not getting provided the supports and resources in his classroom and also within his school,” she added. “How sad is that to have a child that has a right to an education and not get one.”

During the question period, NDP Leader Carla Beck said teachers and staff are doing everything they can to provide supports for students with complex needs but the province is not providing enough support.

“The lack of supports in local schools didn’t happen by accident. It’s a direct result of that premiers’ underfunding of our education system.”

Premier Scott Moe said the government is investing in supports for children in Saskatchewan, including an increase of nine per cent in operational funding from the budget, “which includes over $350 million in supports right in our classrooms, in particular in those elementary grades.”

“We need to continue having this conversation and continue to look at how we can best fund those supports that are needed for families.”

Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill said he had the opportunity to tour John Dolan School to see the work that Saskatoon Public Schools is doing to help vulnerable kids.

“We know there’s more work to continue doing,” he said. “That’s why we’ve signed a multi-year funding agreement with the 27 school divisions so that we can continue having these important discussions on how we support students in all corners of the province.”

Love said parents should be able to get the support their children need, but can’t because of the government’s record of underfunding education.

“When school divisions try to provide the needed supports, they aren’t fully funded by this government and nowhere is that more clear than at John Dolan School,” he said. “They serve some of the most high-needs students in the province but the Sask. Party government doesn’t fully fund those supports.”

“Parents who have joined us today along with the teachers, the staff, and division leaders, all understand the value of investing adequately in the supports that their complex learners need.”

• Get the CTV News app for Saskatchewan breaking news alerts and top stories 

Cockrill said he regularly speaks with the board chair, board trustees, and board administration at Saskatoon Public Schools.

“We have increased classroom support spending significantly across the province in this year’s budget,” he said. “We understand there’s more work to do and we’re committed to having those conversations.”

Love said that several ministers visited John Dolan School but nothing changed after the visits.

“John Dolan is a great school and it serves 60 students of very complex needs but there’s also a long waitlist to get in there, 18 families on the waitlist for John Dolan School, and many more in the province who cannot access the supports that their children need.”

Cockrill responded by saying several things have changed, pointing to the funding increases he previously mentioned.

“Saskatoon Public received additional funding through the complexity dollars that we added in last year’s budget as well,” he said.

Love said Saskatoon Public Schools spends $10 million more on support for complex needs than they receive from the province every year.

“That means that that division has to pull dollars from other programs to fund those supports,” he said, noting that the deficit has an impact on the divisions’ ability to address issues of classroom size and complexity.

The issue of classroom size and complexity has been at the centre of a negotiation dispute between the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) and the province.

The STF’s vote on the province’s “final offer” will close on Thursday evening.