Special Education in Eastern Ontario
As mandated by changes to the Ontario Education Act, the Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) of a board of education is legislated to make recommendations to the board in respect of any matter affecting the establishment, development and delivery of special education programmes and services for exceptional pupils of the board. It may also raise and advise about issues related to annual review and budget.
Education reform in Ontario impacts not only striking teachers but also students, particularly special-needs students. This includes students who must cope with potential seizures in class or who must take essential medication in the school environment. It also includes a wide range of other students who are considered exceptional because they have special needs beyond those met in an average classroom. All these students need advocates to maintain the fulfillment of their education as much as the teachers' cause does.
Regulation 464/97 made under the Ontario Education Act provides for the definition, composition and mandate of a Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) within each school board in Ontario. This committee is intended to provide expert advice to the school board whose members may not otherwise have knowledge of or experience in meeting the needs of exceptional students.
Until this year, the eight counties outside of Ottawa in eastern Ontario were served by four school boards. Today we have a single large board: the Upper Canada District School Board. We now have one SEAC committee instead of the previous four.
Epilepsy Ontario has three chapters serving this area. The provincial office has offered to facilitate the exchange of special education information between the chapters. Gordon Moat of Epilepsy Cornwall has volunteered to be nominated to represent epilepsy associations for SEAC on the Upper Canada board. We are seeking another person to volunteer as an alternate, to attend meetings in the event that Mr. Moat cannot attend. For more information, please contact Mr. Moat at 613-448-1204 evenings, except Thursday.
Why is representation on SEAC important?
SEAC is a window through which we can understand and participate in the delivery of our children's education.
SEAC representatives are familiar with how the school staff can and does work with special-needs students.
You can contact SEAC representatives for advice, to listen to your concerns or for support in building the best education plans for yourself or your children.
SEAC representatives are familiar with the meaning of and the activities behind the sometimes imposing abbreviations like IPRC (Identification, Placement and Review Committee), IEP (Individual Education Plan) and case conference (a meeting of all the people who provide special assistance to a special-needs student). They can help everyone benefit from understanding that the goals are simply to benefit the student by providing the best possible learning environment.
It can be scary if school staff suddenly requests, for example, that your child undergo an assessment for something you did not know about. SEAC representatives can help you better understand the situation if you ask them what is happening.
SEAC representatives persevere to retain funding for special needs students at appropriate levels in boards across Ontario. We must keep the interests of our special-needs students prominently on the table to ensure continued funding.
Your SEAC is the primary avenue to forward ideas and concerns related to special education to those who manage elementary and secondary education in Ontario.
In eastern Ontario, Epilepsy Cornwall, Epilepsy Kingston and Epilepsy Ottawa-Carleton are cooperating to keep an epilepsy voice at the SEAC table. You may wish to call your local school principal to ask which local associations are represented on your SEAC. Ask to be mailed a list containing the name, contact numbers and affiliated associations of each committee member. If the principal does not seem to understand your request, ask for the phone number of the superintendent of programmes to whom s/he reports.
If there are fewer than 12 associations represented on your SEAC committee and you feel that your interests are not represented, consider whether your chapter or your family could put forward a nomination for an association SEAC representative. A commitment is required but the benefits are great. SEAC representatives get a thorough understanding of special-needs education in Ontario. They also provide a beneficial service to students and families likely to be facing similar challenges.
Quality of life improves when knowledge and understanding are shared. Each of us has but one lifetime of experiences but together we can share a multitude of experiences. We can learn simply from recognizing there are different perspectives and solutions.
Editor's Note: Mr. Moat has been appointed to the SEAC of the Upper Canada District School Board.
