‘Students have been abandoned by this government’: Thames Valley teachers call for more funding to support children with needs

NDP MPP Terence Kernaghan and local educators held a press conference to shed light on the ‘political’ choice to underfund schools. Bryan Bicknell reports.

Teachers with the Thames Valley District School Board say children with special needs are not getting the supports they need.

Elementary school educators and union representatives joined London North Centre New Democrat MPP Terence Kernaghan in calling on the Doug Ford government to change the funding formula to address what they say is a crisis affecting children with the most acute needs.

Educator Haley Van Alstine, who teaches at an elementary school in Thames Valley, says while elementary classes are supposed to be capped at an average of 20 students, the number doesn’t tell the whole story.

“In one primary classroom in our school there are now 22 students. Eight of those students are autistic. Several are non-speaking and require significant support throughout the school day. The challenge is not simply the number of students in the room. The challenge is ensuring that the level of support available matches the level of needs present,” said Van Alstine.

She went on to explain that other children in the classroom don’t get the attention they deserve.

“When nearly half of a classroom requires intensive support, the resources required to ensure success for all students are drastically different,” she continued. “Their teacher’s attention is constantly being pulled in multiple directions.”

Van Alstine was part of a Queens Park news conference Wednesday with Kernaghan, along with fellow educators and ETFO representatives from Thames Valley, York and Halton.

“Students have been abandoned by this government, and teachers have been left to try to fill gaps,” said Thames Valley educator Dawn-Marie Deagle.

Teachers say access to educational assistants, language and specialized supports and other services for children with special needs is restricted.

“None of the support that does exist is even possible without proper testing – testing that families are now waiting at least two years to access,” said Deagle.

The group is calling on the provincial government to revamp the education funding formula, directing support where it’s most needed.

“Open the education funding formula to fund children based on their individual education plan to ensure that those supports that have been agreed upon by numerous professionals will actually reach that child,” said Kernaghan.

“Ontario has the money,” added Thames Valley educator Jen Aston. “This is not a budget crisis. It is a political choice. A choice to underfund. A choice to ignore evidence. A choice to let children struggle.”

CTV News reached out to the Ontario Ministry of Education for a response to the claims made at the news conference.

Late Wednesday afternoon, Emma Testani, press secretary for Minister of Education Paul Calandra, provided the following statement:

“Our government has increased special education funding significantly to more than $3.85 billion every year. Our focus remains on student outcomes and on ensuring that investments in special education deliver the results that parents expect and that students need to succeed. We will continue reviewing special education and the various models used across the province, while listening to educators, families and school boards to ensure students are getting the support they need in the classroom.”