Back-to-school plan endangers special needs kids, parents fear
The mother of an autistic boy says the B.C. government’s backto-school plan “shuts out” special needs kids who want to remain in school but don’t feel it’s safe to return to the classroom.
Kaye Banez’s son, Lazarus, is entering Grade 3 at an independent school in Richmond and requires
“hands-on” support.
“He can get impulsive, distracted and disregulated to the point where he will lie on the ground,” she said on Thursday. “He will touch dirty surfaces and immediately put his hand into his mouth, as well as take random objects and chew on (them) as a form of soothing behaviour.”
Banez said her school told her it’s following protocols established by the Ministry of Education and can’t provide an option for Lazarus to learn from home, as he did in the spring when schools closed.
“Many kids on the spectrum are unable to adhere to the COVID safety protocols of the school,” she said. “It’s not just about his safety, but the safety of others, as well.”
In the spring, Lazarus was supported by teachers and education assistants via Zoom. They were able to adapt assignments to help him meet learning objectives. His speech and behavioural therapies moved online, as well.
“He was safe, happy, included and well connected to his peers and teachers,” said Banez, who sits on the Autism B.C. board of directors.
In order to continue teaching Lazarus at home this September, the family looked at enrolling him in a distributed learning school, but every school they contacted reported having no spaces left for kids with special needs.
“We’re at a loss,” said Banez, who is now considering traditional home-schooling under Section 12 of the B.C. School Act. “We are in agony over the back-to-school-plan.”
To home-school Lazarus, they would have to withdraw him from the school system and take full responsibility for his education. It would also mean losing $16,000 in provincial autism funding, which is provided to their school.
Banez said the province should redirect the autism funding to parents who are forced to do traditional home-schooling so they can provide the specialized learning and tools, such as speech therapy, that the students would receive at school.
But she emphasized her preference was to have Lazarus remain with his school community and friends.
“We will do the work, whatever is required,” she said. “We just want to stay in school.”
Banez said she has written Education Minister Rob Fleming to express her concerns. She also
contacted Richmond- Queensborough MLA Jas Johal.
“There is clearly a growing consensus the government needs to provide significant resources for robust distance-learning options,” said Johal.
“We should have been having these conversations with parents in July, but here we are in late August, and we’re seeing many concerned parents who don’t know what to do come fall.”
In a statement, the Ministry of Education said distributed learning programs in both the public and independent systems are “working to address the unusual demand this year,” with several school districts “actively expanding their distributed learning programs.”
The ministry is encouraging parents to enrol their kids in school as usual, pledging to “continue to work to inform and build their confidence in the safe restart of inclass learning.”
The statement said the ministry has been working to find creative solutions to support student choice while keeping students connected to their community school.
“This will include options to support students with special needs,” it said. “This is an unprecedented time, and school districts will work with individual families to address concerns on a case-by-case basis, including helping families find a program that supports their needs,” concluded the statement, which didn’t provide information on the options to support kids with special needs.
B.C.’s back-to-school plan says that “like every year, students who are registered in ‘bricks-and-mortar’ schools are expected to attend school in person, unless they are sick.”