Special Education Forum Minutes s4

Etobicoke Centre Special Education Forum Minutes Tuesday, May 13, 2014 – Burnhamthorpe Collegiate

IN ATTENDANCE: Diana Evstatiev (Program Coordinator, Best Buddies) Jocelyn Lozon (Program Coordinator, Best Buddies) Tracy Fihrer (Parent, Harrison) Virginia Ludy (Parent, Etobicoke Collegiate) Chris Glover (Trustee) Karen Meeson (Comptroller of Finance, TDSB) Sharon Golench (Parent, Central Etobicoke) Nancy Obando (Parent, Park Lawn) Laurie Green (Parent) Nancy Trendoff (Constituency Assistant) Nora Green (Parent, John G. Althouse) Heather Vickers (Chair, West Glen) Maria Lo Bianco (Supervising Principal, Special Susan Winter (Superintendent) Education, TDSB)

1. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS – Chris Glover

Meeting called to order at 7:14 p.m. Chris welcomed everyone to the meeting and all in attendance introduced themselves.

2. SEAC (Special Education Advisory Committee) UPDATE – Nora Green (Some information taken from Phillip Sargent’s report given on April 29, 2014)

Reduction to ISP (Intensive Support Program) Classes: There is a lot of pressure from the Ministry for students to be supported by their home school. According to the Years of Action Plan, ISP classes will be reduced by 50% in the next four years. There is concern since there are not a lot of answers as to what exactly will be cut.

Police Reference Checks: As a result of the Jeffrey Baldwin Inquest, recommendations were made regarding Police Record Check (PRC) policy and procedures. One of the recommendations requires PRCs to be done for all volunteers and is to take effect by September 2014. The term “volunteer” needs to be clearly defined since there is concern that this policy will deter parent involvement. SEAC has been informed that parents who are in classrooms to support their own child will not be considered volunteers and will not require a PRC. However, they would not be allowed to supervise other children. Trustees will be voting on this issue next month.

Special Education Feedback Form: A form is being distributed (see attached) to gather information and statistics on special education programs. This feedback will be shared with both PIAC and SEAC and used to determine how we can improve special education in our schools. Completed forms can be emailed to Nora Green at [email protected].

PIAC/SEAC Conference: Last year’s event was a great success and the tentative date for this year’s conference is November 15, 2014.

Policy Program Memorandum (PPM) 156 – Supporting Transitions for Students with Special Education Needs: This goes into effect September 2, 2014 and governs all students of all ages who have an IEP (Individual Education Plan). Regardless of whether or not a student has been identified as “exceptional” by an IPRC (Identification, Placement and Review Committee), all students must have a Transition Plan. This also includes students identified as “solely gifted”. Governs all transitions where a student may need support, and must state that no actions are required if there are no supports necessary. This includes transitions such as: entry to school; moving between grades; moving between schools; changing school levels (elementary-secondary-post secondary).

OSAP (Ontario Student Assistance Program) Grants: These grants are available for students attending any public post-secondary institution in Ontario.

The Bursary for Students with Disabilities (BSWD) provides up to $2,000 per academic year for students with permanent or temporary disabilities that require education-related services or equipment, such as tutors, note-takers, interpreters, braillers or technical aids, that are directly related to their disability. It includes repayment of Educational Assessments used to apply for Special Education programs in the institution.

The Canada Student Grant for Services and Equipment for Persons with Permanent Disabilities (CSG-PDSE) provides up to $8,000 in non-repayable assistance per academic year for students with permanent disabilities that have disability-related educational costs, such as tutors, note- takers, interpreters, braillers or technical aids that are directly related to their disability.

For more information, see the links below: https://osap.gov.on.ca/OSAPPortal/en/A-ZListofAid/PRDR007073.html https://osap.gov.on.ca/OSAPPortal/en/A-ZListofAid/PRDR007079.html

3. UPDATE ON ACCESSIBLE BUSSING – Karen Meeson

Two contractors have the following accessible busses available:

Stock: Two converted 72-passenger busses (accommodates 18 walk-ons and 5 wheelchairs) Denny: One converted 72-passenger bus (accommodates 16 walk-ons and 10 wheelchairs; $47 more for this vehicle)

The issue at this time of year is that these are the only busses available and there may be a lot of field trips. Denny claims that they can have the bus available, regardless of where the bus is stationed, provided they are given advance notice.

The Request for Proposal (RFP) for transportation contractors will include the following condition:

“For every 150 busses that operate, they shall make available a 72-passenger integrated bus for use of schools on charter (field) trips.”

QUESTION: How many companies does the TDSB deal with? There are 8-10 contractors altogether. QUESTION: How many of those contractors have 150 busses that operate? I will check on that.

QUESTION: Does the ratio of walk-ons to wheelchairs coincide with the requirements for an average school trip? We have to keep in mind that the bus has to accommodate a lift as well. Denny has a number of variations available but they are limited to the number of walk-ons.

QUESTION: Can we get a bus that accommodates 30-40 walk-ons? No, that configuration wouldn’t be possible.

QUESTION: Do home-to-school busses also do field trips? Yes, but their first priority is the home-to-school routes. We would like to see them do charters as well. However, they may have to charge a premium to do that.

QUESTION: If a school required two busses, how would principals deal with the added cost? Funds are set aside for those particular cases. Families are not asked to absorb those costs. Sometimes we look at the possibility of using wheelchair accessible taxis or other ways that might be more cost effective.

QUESTION: How many passengers does a regular bus hold? Generally, about 48 students will fit on a regular bus but can accommodate more if they are small children.

4. PRESENTATION: BEST BUDDIES PROGRAM – Diana Evstatiev

Best Buddies was founded in 1988 in the United States by Anthony Kennedy Shriver. Best Buddies Canada began in 1993 as a university program. It is a registered charity with over 300 elementary and high schools in Canada involved.

The free program pairs a student with intellectual disabilities with a mainstream student with similar interests (called a Buddy Pair). The Buddy Pair meets at least twice a month. The program provides learning and friendship opportunities that are beneficial for both mainstream and special needs students. At the elementary level, it is run more like a group program rather than one-on-one.

BUILD (Buddies United in Leadership Development):  Practical training in the area of speech writing and delivery  Building self confidence  One-on-one speech coaching  Networking with other Buddies in your region

Diana got involved with the Best Buddies program when she was a student at Richview Collegiate. Current students at Richview, Hanna and Fatima, spoke about their participation in the Best Buddies program with special needs students from Central Etobicoke. There are more than 30 Richview students involved in the program. They believe their interaction with students with intellectual disabilities has taught them how to communicate better and has strengthened their friendship since they joined the program in grade 9.

A Regional Leadership and Development Conference is held annually where members are invited to attend workshops and seminars. The Evening of Friendship is a dance held for participating students in the Greater Toronto Area.

Below are links with more information on the Best Buddies program: Website: www.bestbuddies.ca Hooping It Up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4ToijQOgfo Evening of Friendship: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8D0lpiWH_4 Toronto Leadership Conference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0ccl5PCbrM BUILD program: http://globalnews.ca/news/776208/best-buddies-canada-launches-new- program/

QUESTION: How do you start Best Buddies in a school? Anyone (parent, teacher, or student) can call the head office and a Best Buddies representative will meet with the principal. Then you start to recruit volunteers and support is offered by telephone, email and visits.

QUESTION: Is there anything like this for students with physical disabilities? Yes, they are included as well.

5. TRUSTEE UPDATE – Chris Glover

Bike to School Day May 26: Every elementary school has a problem with pick-up and drop-off. If we can encourage children to walk or bike to school, it would make a big difference. Walking school busses are wonderful options.

Social Justice for All Conference: The conference was held at York University on May 7 and over 900 grade 6-12 students attended along with 100 university students. This conference is about student voice and giving students the tools they need to be citizens for positive social change in their community and the world around them. Poster presentations were made by students with the theme “Student Voice Student Action”.

Mental Health Week May 5-9: Many schools held special events last week regarding mental health and well-being. The Stop the Stigma is one campaign that is part of Donna Quan’s Years of Action.

Policy Program Memorandum (PPM) 156: Mandatory training is being provided to all staff including principals and teachers and special education curriculum leaders in secondary schools. Face-to-face training is part of that along with online training.

Budget: The Board passed a balanced budget at the beginning of March at the time when staffing was also done. The province announced their funding at the end of March and, as a result, more cuts were required. The Ministry cut $7.3 million in special education funding and this is the first of a four- year plan. It is too late to make adjustments in terms of staffing but a letter has been drafted against these cuts and will be sent out soon. It is important to put some pressure on the provincial candidates in the election in June.

Education Day Debate: The Ontario Public School Boards' Association (OPSBA) declared May 27th Education Day in the province of Ontario. Many Trustees are organizing meetings in their communities that will allow candidates to share their views and answer questions in local schools on the issues affecting public education. We are organizing an Education Debate to be held on Wednesday, May 28, 6:30- 9:00 pm at Richview Collegiate Auditorium.

Arts Alive: A wonderful event took place at Hollycrest on May 13. Students with special needs were invited to take part in hands-on workshops led by professional artists and arts educators that have experience working with children with special needs. The organizers are hoping to make this an annual event. Photos of the event can be viewed on the links below: https://twitter.com/TDSB_Hollycrest http://schoolweb.tdsb.on.ca/hollycrest/Home.aspx

Technology Ward Forum: This is the third year for this event which is being held on Tuesday, May 27, 6:30-9:00 pm at Etobicoke Collegiate Library. The event features demonstrations and presentations on various new technologies available to our students. Teachers, parents and students are welcome.

6. OTHER BUSINESS

A parent from Park Lawn brought up a concern at the school involving Educational Assistants (EAs). The Level K EAs are being declared surplus at the school and being replaced with Level J EAs in September 2014. Many parents have come to Park Lawn from out of district to attend the physical ISP at Park Lawn.

During the past couple of years, the Board has been phasing out Level K EAs in ISPs for students with a physical exceptionality in integrated schools, and this year it affected Park Lawn. It was a collective agreement issue that started this change.

Chris will be taking questions regarding this issue to Human Resources at the next meeting.

Meeting was adjourned at 9:07 pm.

Thank you to all the parents, students and staff members who came. Your time and commitment to improving Special Education in Etobicoke Centre is greatly appreciated.

A special thank you to our guest speakers and to Burnhamthorpe Collegiate for hosting the meeting. Trustee Chris Glover