Special-ed workers worry about class safety
Some Ottawa educators say they are concerned about the safety of classrooms that remain open in schools for special-education students.
Ontario elementary and secondary students have been sent home to study virtually because of the dangers posed by rising rates of COVID-19. However, special-education classes are still operating at many bricks-and-mortar schools.
The special-education classes include students with physical and developmental disabilities, autism and behaviour problems. Some don't wear masks and require close physical care.
Two unions representing teachers and educational assistants at the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board have sent letters to Ottawa Public Health expressing their concerns.
It's urgent that public health officials inspect classrooms to assess the safety of the special-ed classes, said a letter from the Ottawa branch of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation, which also represents the educational assistants who work with special-needs children.
“In the absence of reasons based on medical evidence to keep specialized systems classes open, we are unsure as to the safety of staff and students in these programs,” said the letter signed by president Stephanie Kirkey and other union executives.
The letter said staff agreed that students in specialized classes had difficulty with remote education and benefited most from in-person instruction.
“Our members care deeply about the students they work with and are not only concerned about their own health and safety, but also about that of their students, as they are often unable to abide by COVID safety protocols that include masking, physical distancing and hand hygiene, thus making it more likely that they could transmit the virus to one another,” the letter said.
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board has 1,286 elementary and secondary students in special-education classes attending in person at 87 schools, said spokesperson Darcy Knoll.
While final numbers were not available, Knoll said the board believed a large number of the special-education students were back in class on Friday at schools.
In-person classes for other elementary and secondary students are scheduled to resume Jan. 25.
The school boards provide PPE for educators in special-education classes as required, including surgical masks, face shields, gloves and gowns.
Several educators interviewed said they don't understand why it has been deemed unsafe for students in mainstream classes to attend class, but not special-ed students.
“The rest of the province is being told, `We need to stay in lockdown and not go out,'” said Francine Meledoro, the secretary-treasurer of the union representing educational assistants at the Ottawa Catholic School Board.
“But we are being told, `Let's send back the most vulnerable population of school-aged children.' Some of them have low immune systems, the majority of them are unable to wear a mask, they may have problems keeping proper hygiene in terms of washing their hands, not touching their noses, their mouths, not touching other surfaces.”
An educational assistant who didn't want her name used said the students with autism she works with tear off their masks because they find them to be sensory overload.
She has stopped using the face shields, gloves and gowns provided because they trigger one of the students, who fears doctors. “He will trash the class. We've had to leave the room and hold the door closed because he was coming after us.”
The woman had COVID-19 herself this fall and still suffers lung problems.
A teacher at Clifford Bowey Public School, which has students up to age 21 with developmental delays, said he fears for both students and educators.
His students cannot follow the basic COVID-19 safety protocols of wearing a mask, washing their own hands or maintaining physical distance, and many of them are medically fragile, Mark Bourbonnais said.
“We love having them, we love being here. But I'm concerned about this.”
The first priority should be keeping students safe, Bourbonnais said. “What is our priority? If it's education, then everyone should be in school. If it's safety, then these students should not be in class.”
The Ministry of Education has advised that “boards must continue to have plans to support students with special-education needs, including supporting these students to learn remotely or making provisions for in-person instruction for students with special education needs who cannot be accommodated through remote learning,” Knoll said.
The health and safety protocols that were in place before schools closed for the holiday break remain, including PPE and daily symptom assessment of staff and students, he said in a statement.
“These are the protocols that were directed by the ministry and aligned with both public health advice and Ministry of Labour expectations for workers.”
The special education classes have fewer students. At the Ottawa Catholic School Board, most are limited to between six and 10 students, with life-skills classes capped at 16, spokesperson Sharlene Hunter said.
“This past week, we averaged around five students in system classes, with a wide variety of numbers depending on the parents' comfort level with their child attending school in-person during the school lockdown.”
The superintendent responsible for special education at the board, Manon Seguin, also provided a statement: “I'm proud of our board and school-based staff, as they continue to do whatever it takes to support each child's unique needs, in as safe a manner as possible during this pandemic.”
The provincial union that represents thousands of educational assistants, including those employed at the Ottawa Catholic School Board, released a statement calling on the Ontario government to improve working conditions for staff required to work in schools during the closure.
The workers are providing a vital service to students, but need enhanced PPE, such as N95 masks and gowns and better-ventilated classrooms, said Laura Walton, president of CUPE's school board division.
School boards should also limit the number of people in schools by ensuring that only students who absolutely require in-person learning are in classes, Walton said.
We love having them, we love being here. But I'm concerned.