Adrianna Atkins said she was "devastated" after her son's principal informed her less than two weeks ago that the self-contained special education classroom he was in would be closed come September.
The closure would mean that 9-year-old Marshall — who has severe autism, ADHD and epilepsy, is non-verbal and elopes — would be moved into a regular classroom.
"I got in my car and I had a very hard time driving, I didn't move for a little bit, it was a lot to take in," said Atkins, who lives in Hearst, a town more than 200
kilometres northwest of Timmins. Atkins said she was told it was unclear at the time what supports her son would get.
She told the principal she didn't know if she could safely send him to school in the fall. Marshall constantly puts non-edible items in his mouth and has experienced seizures that left him non-responsive for three minutes. Atkins has also had to call 911 after Marshall ran away and was gone for 45 minutes.
"I'm not going to be feeling that way either, so I just won't send him," said Atkins, who told The Trillium she was hopeful the District School Board Ontario North East would change course and she wouldn't have to quit her job as a personal support worker. She believed her son would require an educational assistant to be assigned to him for one-on-one support throughout the day.
Atkins is one of several parents fighting against the closure or potential closure of special education classrooms across the province — with some of these being part of larger shakeups that school boards say is a move towards more "inclusive" environments.
But advocates and parents say when it comes to special needs, it's "not a one size fits all," and they're worried such moves could be a setback for students with disabilities and lead to them being excluded from schools more often if the proper supports aren't in place. They'd like to see the provincial government stepping in to ensure students with disabilities have access to these contained classrooms where needed and that students with special needs be provided more supports.
For Atkins, she worries about both her son and the other students that will be in his class.
"I don't know what they're going to do to allow my son to still be himself, but allow the other kids to have the opportunity to learn," she said.
The school board said it "restructured" the high-support program at Marshall's school "based on changes in enrolment at Clayton Brown Public School."
"We continue to be committed to meeting the student’s needs. The student will continue to receive the same level of EA support as in previous years. The changes will not impact the delivery of IEP (individual education plan) programming and services," a spokesperson told The Trillium, adding that the school would "take a balanced approach between integration and providing support in an alternate space where the necessary accommodations, modifications and alternative programming will be delivered as outlined in the IEP."
Katie Allen's daughter Aubrey, a Grade 4 student within the Peel District School Board (PDSB), was moved to a different school that had a separate communication class partway through her Grade 3 school year due to a learning disability affecting reading and written expression.
The communication classes have a maximum of eight students and are led by a teacher trained on the Empower Reading program, which was developed at the Hospital for Sick Children and focuses on helping kids with reading, spelling and comprehension.
During her time in the separate classroom, Aubrey's reading level went from a kindergarten to Grade 2 level of reading.
But as part of a "pilot" and a move to a "more inclusive withdrawal model," the board will be cutting these classrooms this fall and moving the students in them to regular classrooms.
"The pilot will continue to focus on a student-centred approach by providing withdrawal support of literacy learning, enhancing teacher professional learning, include the effective integration of technology aimed at fostering literacy development, include the additional allocation of Resource Teacher support, and increase access to social-emotional learning supports," a PDSB spokesperson said.
"This is not a pilot project ... this is a cancellation of the current program and a full replacement with a lower level of support for the students," said Allen, adding that what's planned for the fall is the kind of setup that was in place for Aubrey up until Grade 3 and they "weren't seeing progress."
She worries that her daughter could see less instruction time in literacy if other school activities come up during the 80 minutes she's scheduled to get that support and that the Empower Reading strategies won't be applied throughout the day.
The current teacher "looks at these kids holistically, so when they're doing science or math, she can still prompt them with the Empower strategies that they learn to read science problems or read math problems," said Allen. "She's able to help support them, not only in their literacy, but across all the other subjects."
Like Atkins from Hearst, Allen said she'd like the government to do more to ensure students have access to specialized classes where needed and boost special education funding.
"Let's do these evidence-based interventions to get her caught up, and then you can have a successful middle school and high school career," Allen said. "The longer that ... the government, the school boards let this go, the bigger the problems become."
In Ottawa, Alicia Vrieswyk is concerned about whether a review the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) is conducting could lead to the closure of special
education classrooms like the one her daughter, Lexi, is currently in.
The Grade 2 student has a genetic condition called Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome, which has led to "decreased intellectual capacity," social, emotional and judgment challenges, seizures and other concerns.
She has spent the past two years in a self-contained classroom at the board — with 10 students, one teacher and two educational assistants — prior to which she did junior and senior kindergarten at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario's school.
"It has been absolutely fantastic for her, both from a learning perspective and then also a social growth perspective as well, and in addition to an adequate amount of supervision for her medical complexities as well," Vrieswyk said of her current class.
The OCDSB's review is focused on elementary programming including English with Core French, Early French Immersion, special education and more to "determine whether the current program model still serves the needs of the community," board spokesperson Darcy Knoll said.
An FAQ section on the board's webpage dedicated to the review states that research challenges the idea that "specialized program classes have the impact for which they are intended (i.e., ability grouping to meet learning needs, efficient allocation of resources). Increasingly, school districts are understanding that specialized classes can also segregate students from their peers, limit student access to curriculum or growth opportunities, force students to be transported out of their communities, and reinforce stereotypes and stigma.
"While program classes that are specialized may serve specific needs in some cases, they often require a greater number of transitions for students and do not foster inclusive learning environments. These issues are to be explored in the program review," states the website.
The board is accepting public feedback until June 28. A report with recommendations is expected this fall.
Knoll said "there are no predetermined outcomes. Despite some speculation, we have not planned to take a certain course of action over others."
Vrieswyk said she hopes the board will keep special education classes so special needs students aren't shifted to regular classrooms.
"In addition to them really not being able to learn in a mainstream class, the amount of stimulation and sensory input that they will get in these classes will cause emotional dysregulation," Vrieswyk said. "You can't put all of these kids in a mainstream class without additional supports and expect it to go well."
She said dysregulation and other challenges would disrupt everybody's learning.
"Total inclusion isn't necessarily best for everybody. If they wanted to have a more inclusive model, they could bring mainstream kids into the special education classrooms. They could sit with them. They could read with them," Vrieswyk said. "Classes of 30 kids are hard to be in. There's a lot of noise. There's a lot going on. It's hard for them to process everything and keep their emotions under control."
The Ontario Autism Coalition (OAC) held a special education rally on this issue on Saturday in Ottawa to call for the "right to a full, safe, and meaningful education" for all students.
Kate Dudley-Logue, vice-president of the OAC, said inclusion is a "lovely idea, but in practice what ends up happening is that the people with disabilities don't actually get the support that they need" and it ends up being more like exclusion.
She has two children who are on opposite ends of the autism spectrum. Her son, in Grade 5, is in a special autism classroom with a total of six kids and three educators in the OCDSB. Her daughter, in Grade 8, is in a mainstream classroom, which Dudley-Logue said is "1,000 per cent where she should be."
Dudley-Logue said for some kids with high needs, like her son, a busy environment with lots of demands that they won't be able to keep up with is not beneficial.
"It actually can be traumatic for them to be around that much sound, that much chaos, the lights, the demands, the amount of activity that's happening, all of it can really trigger them and make it almost impossible for them to be there in a regulated state," she said, adding that her son does better in a smaller classroom.
She's worried about the outcome of the OCDSB's review and would like to see the government "mandate school boards to have special education class offerings."
Other boards have also made changes to special education classes. The Limestone District School Board (LDSB), for example, did a special education review last year that led to the board saying "special education classrooms and itinerant support positions will not be continuing, and staff will be reallocated into schools."
Five autism classes, four classes that support students who are dysregulated and 2.5 (includes a half-day program) learning disabilities classrooms were closed, according to Scot Gillam, superintendent of curriculum and program services: student support services and Indigenous education for the board.
"The change from congregated and siloed supports to fully inclusive supports in (LDSB) schools will take place in September 2024. There has been a fulsome transition plan for all students returning to their home schools, or who are remaining at the site where their specialized programs were located," said Gillam.
The Toronto District School Board is also planning to review its special education model starting in the 2024-25 school year.
"The Toronto District School Board's decision to review its model for special education programs and services is driven by our commitment as stated in our Multi Year Strategic Plan (MYSP) to ensuring equitable and inclusive education for all students," a board spokesperson said. "The review will assess the effectiveness of current practices and identify areas for improvement by reviewing and implementing evolving best practices in special education."
Asked about whether the review would focus on the closure of special education classrooms, the board pointed to Ontario Regulation 181/98, saying it "requires school boards to consider placing students with exceptionalities into regular classes with appropriate special education supports before considering placement in special education classes.
"In the TDSB, we continue to recognize that students develop and learn in different ways, have different strengths and needs, and require different levels of support. Some students require special education programs and services to meet their needs and they may receive support in Intensive Support Programs (ISPs)."
In response to questions about the concerns raised by families and their asks for the province to do more to support special needs students, a spokesperson for Education Minister Todd Smith said the government has helped hire 3,500 educational assistants since 2018 and has allocated $3.5 billion for special education for the 2024-25 school year.
"Specifically, we have provided over $229 million in special education funding for Peel District School Board, over $34.9 million for the Limestone District School Board, $21.3 million for District School Board Ontario North East, and over $115.6 million for the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board," said Isha Chaudhuri. "The ministry expects school boards to determine the best staffing arrangements to support learning in classrooms, so students can go back to basics on what matters most: reading, writing and math.”