Stop Cutting Funding for Children with Exceptionalities in BC.
Stop Cutting Funding for Children with Exceptionalities in BC.
The Issue
Funding for children with exceptionalities and disabilities has been an ongoing problem and concern for far too long and it's only getting worse! These cuts are affecting our most vulnerable students in schools and classrooms all over BC! Many students in BC with a designation are not reciving the inclusive education or supports that they so desperately deserve. A student with a designation means that they have access to extra Supplemental Special Needs funding and an Individual Education Plan (IEP) to help support them at school. According to the Government of BC website, it states, "These funds are not targeted to specific students; however, are provided to boards of education to support the needs of students within their district.
Our most vulnerable students are not getting the quality, inclusive education that they deserve. According to a 2015 study from BCEdAccess, 43% of Inclusive Education Plans (IEP's) were not being followed. The government keeps making cuts to the funding for these vital programs, which directly impacts our students ability to learn, thrive, reach new goals and milestones. These students require specialized support from a qualified support worker. Their resources and supports are being stripped away due to the government not providing the necessary and appropriate funding needed to service and support our students. With the population of children with special needs drastically increasing, and not enough funding available, the school districts around BC cannot keep up with the demand of support that is so very, desperately needed!!
It is crucial that we invest in our children's future by ensuring they have access to quality, inclusive education tailored to their needs. School districts, CUPE (the union that represents Education Assistants) and the Teachers unions across the province have been fighting this fight for years and it still remains a constant problem!!
If you're a parent of a child with exceptionalities or a disability and you believe your child has a support worker or that they are given some support while at school, it's time that you start asking questions about your child's education & how they are being supported at school. You may be surprised to find out that your child is in fact NOT receiving the supports you believed they were getting! Your child may be getting LITTLE to NO support at all! This is absolutely heart breaking. It's time you speak up to advocate for your children! The districts and schools can only do so much and we need your voice! Together, we can all help make the necessary changes and tell the government that what they are providing is NOT enough!!
It's time we all advocate for your children. Our numbers keep rising, yet the funding doesn't. We are seeing record numbers of increasing need for student support, yet the government has not increased this funding enough! Our most vulnerable students are getting left behind!
In schools across BC, we have designated and undesignated students. As per the gov.bc.ca article (link posted below), it states, "in order for a student to qualify for Special Needs funding, the student must be appropriately assessed and identified, and have an Individual Education Plan (IEP) in place. If a student is not designated, they will not receive the additional Special Needs funding. So, essentially a child who does not qualify for this funding but needs support, will get the support. This means that someone who did qualify for the funding may lose some or all of their hours of support at school. This isn't fair! So many of our most vulnerable students are NOT getting the 'highest quality education' that we think they are getting. Education Assistants and teachers are exhausted and burned out! We fear it's only going to get worse!
Are you aware that some EA's are working with anywhere from 2-7, sometimes 9 or 10 different students in a day? All because the government won't allocate or give the school districts MORE funding to support the students who need it the most! EA's deserve better, teachers deserve better, our parents deserve better, but most importantly, our students deserve better!
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! WE WANT CHANGE! WE WANT IT NOW!!
By signing this petition, our hope is that the government will take this seriously and that our children with exceptionalities and disabilities will receive the funding and supports that they so desperately need to succeed.
Please sign and share this petition today.
Email your local MP and MLA regarding this as well. This will also be shared with all of the major news outlets.
Below you will find some articles that were on the news regarding the problems that the Surrey School District is facing in regards to budget cuts as a result of not receiving enough funding from our government! These are some examples of what our BC schools struggle with.
Your support is greatly appreciated.
Government of BC K-12 Funding - Special Needs: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/k-12/administration/legislation-policy/public-schools/k-12-funding-special-needs
BCEdAccess: https://bcedaccess.com/full-forced-out-survey-report/
Surrey Now-Leader: https://www.surreynowleader.com/local-news/its-just-what-we-have-to-do-program-service-cuts-coming-to-surrey-schools-7356268
Global News: https://globalnews.ca/news/10486177/surrey-schools-cuts-budget/
Vancouver Sun: https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/surrey-school-district-cuts-services-to-produce-a-balanced-budget
CityTV News: https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2024/05/09/surrey-schools-budget-shortfall-bus-changes/
68
The Issue
Funding for children with exceptionalities and disabilities has been an ongoing problem and concern for far too long and it's only getting worse! These cuts are affecting our most vulnerable students in schools and classrooms all over BC! Many students in BC with a designation are not reciving the inclusive education or supports that they so desperately deserve. A student with a designation means that they have access to extra Supplemental Special Needs funding and an Individual Education Plan (IEP) to help support them at school. According to the Government of BC website, it states, "These funds are not targeted to specific students; however, are provided to boards of education to support the needs of students within their district.
Our most vulnerable students are not getting the quality, inclusive education that they deserve. According to a 2015 study from BCEdAccess, 43% of Inclusive Education Plans (IEP's) were not being followed. The government keeps making cuts to the funding for these vital programs, which directly impacts our students ability to learn, thrive, reach new goals and milestones. These students require specialized support from a qualified support worker. Their resources and supports are being stripped away due to the government not providing the necessary and appropriate funding needed to service and support our students. With the population of children with special needs drastically increasing, and not enough funding available, the school districts around BC cannot keep up with the demand of support that is so very, desperately needed!!
It is crucial that we invest in our children's future by ensuring they have access to quality, inclusive education tailored to their needs. School districts, CUPE (the union that represents Education Assistants) and the Teachers unions across the province have been fighting this fight for years and it still remains a constant problem!!
If you're a parent of a child with exceptionalities or a disability and you believe your child has a support worker or that they are given some support while at school, it's time that you start asking questions about your child's education & how they are being supported at school. You may be surprised to find out that your child is in fact NOT receiving the supports you believed they were getting! Your child may be getting LITTLE to NO support at all! This is absolutely heart breaking. It's time you speak up to advocate for your children! The districts and schools can only do so much and we need your voice! Together, we can all help make the necessary changes and tell the government that what they are providing is NOT enough!!
It's time we all advocate for your children. Our numbers keep rising, yet the funding doesn't. We are seeing record numbers of increasing need for student support, yet the government has not increased this funding enough! Our most vulnerable students are getting left behind!
In schools across BC, we have designated and undesignated students. As per the gov.bc.ca article (link posted below), it states, "in order for a student to qualify for Special Needs funding, the student must be appropriately assessed and identified, and have an Individual Education Plan (IEP) in place. If a student is not designated, they will not receive the additional Special Needs funding. So, essentially a child who does not qualify for this funding but needs support, will get the support. This means that someone who did qualify for the funding may lose some or all of their hours of support at school. This isn't fair! So many of our most vulnerable students are NOT getting the 'highest quality education' that we think they are getting. Education Assistants and teachers are exhausted and burned out! We fear it's only going to get worse!
Are you aware that some EA's are working with anywhere from 2-7, sometimes 9 or 10 different students in a day? All because the government won't allocate or give the school districts MORE funding to support the students who need it the most! EA's deserve better, teachers deserve better, our parents deserve better, but most importantly, our students deserve better!
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! WE WANT CHANGE! WE WANT IT NOW!!
By signing this petition, our hope is that the government will take this seriously and that our children with exceptionalities and disabilities will receive the funding and supports that they so desperately need to succeed.
Please sign and share this petition today.
Email your local MP and MLA regarding this as well. This will also be shared with all of the major news outlets.
Below you will find some articles that were on the news regarding the problems that the Surrey School District is facing in regards to budget cuts as a result of not receiving enough funding from our government! These are some examples of what our BC schools struggle with.
Your support is greatly appreciated.
Government of BC K-12 Funding - Special Needs: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/k-12/administration/legislation-policy/public-schools/k-12-funding-special-needs
BCEdAccess: https://bcedaccess.com/full-forced-out-survey-report/
Surrey Now-Leader: https://www.surreynowleader.com/local-news/its-just-what-we-have-to-do-program-service-cuts-coming-to-surrey-schools-7356268
Global News: https://globalnews.ca/news/10486177/surrey-schools-cuts-budget/
Vancouver Sun: https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/surrey-school-district-cuts-services-to-produce-a-balanced-budget
CityTV News: https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2024/05/09/surrey-schools-budget-shortfall-bus-changes/
68
Petition created on June 6, 2024