Unions want special-ed classes shut as well
Leaders want health officials to close special education classes to vaccinate
If it's unsafe for schools to be open, classes for special education students should be temporarily dismissed, too, say the unions representing staff at the four Ottawa school boards.
Students with special needs are being used as “political pawns” as schools close for in-person classes after the spring break, union leaders say in a joint letter sent to Ottawa medical officer of health Dr. Vera Etches.
They asked Etches to issue an order closing special education classes for at least two to three weeks while staff are vaccinated.
The province ordered Ontario students to shift to remote learning at home on April 19, but told boards to continue in-person classes for students with special needs who can't learn online.
The same exception applied when Ontario students temporarily shifted online in January. Schools remained open for special education students.
“While we agree that in-person learning is the best mode of learning for students, and especially for many of these exceptional learners, we disagree with the (Ministry of Education's) assertion that offering in-person learning at this time is `to protect the most vulnerable' students,” the letter said.
“Rather, these students are being used as political pawns with little regard for their safety or well-being.”
Keeping special education classes open exposes both students and staff to unacceptable risk, the letter added.
Ottawa Public Health released a statement to the Citizen saying that while it supported the province's decision to move schools to remote learning, “if this option can't be accommodated for students with special needs, OPH is working with schools to keep them as safe as possible and to support teachers, school staff, students and their families.”
The statement did not comment directly on the possibility of an order closing special education classes.
However, it said special-education staff had experience maintaining COVID -wise protocols and OPH nurses would be available to visit schools and support them with any recommendations for improving infection prevention and control.
Ottawa faces record COVID-19 cases because of the spread of variants of concern, which are more contagious and bring more risk of serious illness and death, the union letter said.
“How is having students — some of whom are medically fragile — who cannot adhere to COVID safety protocols like masking, physical distancing and hand hygiene congregated together indoors in a classroom for most of the day `protecting' them from contracting this virus?”
Some students with special needs spit or bite, aren't able to wear masks, and require help with toileting.
It's not safe for anyone to be in school buildings, said Duane Faris, who is on the executive of the union local representing high school teachers and educational assistants at all schools who are often charged with helping special education students.
Faris said he sympathized with school boards, though, because they were ordered by the Education Ministry to provide in-person classes for special-education students who couldn't learn online and also to decide which students met that criteria.
The special-education students include children with autism, learning disabilities, developmental delays, blindness or deafness, behaviour challenges and giftedness.
The province has also announced that Ontario special-education staff who provide direct support to students are eligible to get vaccines starting this week.
However, it will take at least two weeks after the first shot to develop some immunity, the union letter notes.
“It would be prudent to keep all classes fully remote for at least a few weeks to allow these education workers and other staff who support these classes and schools to be vaccinated and for them to develop some immunity, which will then protect them and their students when we return to in-person learning.”
The vaccination program for special-education workers appears to be going well this week in Ottawa, said Susan Gardner, president of the union representing elementary teachers at the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board. Some educators in Toronto and elsewhere had complained about difficulties booking appointments.
Brenda Reisch, executive director of an organization that runs summer camps and other programs for autistic children, says she understands the concerns educators have about safety at schools.
But many autistic children don't have the ability to learn online, she said. And in-person school also provides a respite for parents from the overwhelming challenges of caring for autistic children, she said.
With proper protocols in place, Reisch said, she believes classes can be run safely.