Children with special needs still waiting for support, says NAPE

'I am calling on the minister to take immediate action.' - Carol Furlong

St. John's (23 Oct. 2006) - As the second month of the new school year progresses, children with special needs in Newfoundland and Labrador are still waiting for student assistant support services so they can participate fully in their regular school activities as all other children are able to do.

Carol Furlong, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees (NAPE/NUPGE), says schools across this province still do not have enough student assistant hours to provide the same level of support that was available to children with special needs when school closed last June.

Schools are required to provide the department of education with documentation supporting their student assistant requirements before the end of March each year.

"The number of children is roughly the same, and in most cases the individuals are the same," Furlong says.

"Yet students with special needs are forced to wait for the results of an ineffective appeal process before student assistant hours are finalized each year. This causes tremendous turmoil in the lives of children with special needs. To make matters worse, if past practice is anything to go by, almost all of the hours cut will be restored when the appeals process is completed later this fall."

In response to earlier comments on the lack of available student assistant support services, Furlong has received numerous messages from the parents of students adversely affected.

"The minister of education has indicated she will be taking steps to prevent this from happening again next year," Furlong adds.

"However, that does not address the problems that children with special needs, their parents and the schools are experiencing right now. I am calling on the minister to take immediate action to provide schools with the student assistant support services required to enable all children with special needs in this province to participate fully in regular school activities." NUPGE