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ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSIONAL STUDENT SERVICES PERSONNEL


SUBMISSION TO THE EDUCATION EQUALITY TASK FORCE

SEPTEMBER 18, 2002


We thank Mordechai Rozanski and the Education Equality Task Force for the opportunity to make this submission about the review of the funding formula for Ontario's publicly funded schools.

The Association of Professional Student Services Personnel (APSSP) is an association of about 450 professionals who work for nine school boards in southern Ontario. We represent psychology staff, social workers, attendance counsellors, speech and language pathologists, child and youth counsellors and other related professionals.

APSSP members work directly with students to provide assessment, counselling, suicide risk evaluation, speech/language therapy, behavioural interventions, diagnosis of learning and behaviour disorders, and other services. Our members assist school staffs in the implementation of early literacy programs for all students. We assist teachers and principals in implementing anti-bullying programs, conflict resolution programs and other measures to ensure a safe environment for children. The services of our members enable children to benefit from the educational opportunities that are presented to them. The government of Ontario has recognized that we are an integral part of the education of children by placing the services we provide in the classroom envelope.

APSSP supports the government's intent to ensure quality education and equality of opportunity for all students. However, the current formula for funding school boards has led to reduced services to our most needy students. This reduction is documented in "The 2002 Elementary School Tracking Report" prepared by People for Education:
  • Ontario students now have substantially less access to psychologists, social workers, and speech-language pathologists than they did during the 1997/98 school year.
  • The services of Child & Youth Workers are being spread more thinly, and an increasing number of schools have no access to Child & Youth Workers.
  • Wait lists of one, two or more years for Special Education services is the current reality for many Ontario students.

    School Boards have been forced to reduce special services for children in order to provide minimally adequate levels of staffing in other areas, meet collective agreement obligations and still maintain a balanced budget.

    The funding formula makes no provision for staff such as lunch room, school yard and bus supervisors. Funding for these staff is taken from the Professional/Para-professional allocation intended for special services staffing. This diversion of money leaves inadequate funds to allow a sufficient number of special services professionals to assist students.

    The following two of our seven recommendations are submitted to address these concerns.

    Recommendation 1: That the Ministry of Education adjust the funding formula to ensure that money provided in the Foundation Grant to school boards for special services professionals is used only for that purpose.

    Recommendation 2: That the Ministry of Education adjust the funding formula to provide school boards with additional funding for other needed staff, such as lunchroom and school yard supervisors, that boards have been paying from the Professional/Para-Professional envelope.

    Some Boards are having difficulty filling Special Services positions because the salaries they can offer have not kept pace with the market. Since its implementation, the funding formula has provided for only one pay raise (1.95%) to school board staff salaries.

    Recommendation 3: That the Government adjust the provision for salaries in the funding formula to reflect what school boards must actually pay, allowing for inflation and market value.

    The ISA process has further aggravated the understaffing of special services by diverting professionals from the regular services (such as counselling and social skills training) they provide to students. To date, ISA has not provided any extra funding to justify this loss of service. Students, who do not quality for ISA funding, have fallen to the bottom of already long assessment wait lists, and have not received the quality of other special services given in the past

    Recommendation 4: That the Ministry of Education immediately implement "live funding" and for this school year provide school boards with the additional money warranted by those students whose high needs are documented in approved ISA claims.

    Our school boards must by law accept and educate all students regardless of their needs. The needs of the school population and the availability of community resources can be very different from one Ontario community to another. In Toronto, many children enter school not speaking English or French. Families may be new to or isolated from mainstream Canadian culture. On the other hand, in small towns far from urban centres, community resources, such as child & family counselling, are often very limited.

    Recommendation 5: That the Ministry of Education recognize that school board staff have an understanding of the particular needs of their students, and continue to provide support through the Local Priority Amount and Learning Opportunities Grant as they implement programs unique to their community to assist them.

    Ontario is in danger of developing a two-tier system for the provision of special services. Families who can afford the $1500 - $2000 cost are paying for private assessments to document that their child meets one of the Ministry's identification categories and thereby qualifies for Special Education services. Other families pay for private speech/language therapy or counselling for their children. Wait lists for community services are long, and because other public agency resources are stretched many agencies will not provide services (e.g. assessment), which are theoretically available through school boards. Children, whose families cannot afford private service, are denied the assistance to which they are entitled.

    The lack of service affects all students. One disruptive student can hinder the learning of an entire class. When a high needs child is not receiving the intensive support required, the classroom teacher cannot meet the needs of both that child and the rest of his/her students.

    The government's current $10 million initiative to reduce the backlog of ISA required assessments will be received gratefully by school boards. However, these fee-for-service assessments fail to provide for proper follow up with students, parents and school staff necessary for effective service. Educational program recommendations need to be monitored and adjusted. A referral of a student to a community agency for service does not happen on the basis of one phone call; a series of contacts with both the family and agency is usually required. Unlike the fee-for-service model, special services staff regularly employed by school boards can provide long-term service with a continuity of knowledge of each child and the school environment in which he/she functions.

    Recommendation 6: That the Ministry of Education increase the per pupil allocation for Professional/Para-Professional support to ensure all students – both "exceptional" and "non-exceptional" – have access to the assessment, counselling and other interventions needed to fulfill their educational potential.

    The social costs of failure at school are enormous. In Canada, 70 % of prison inmates are functionally illiterate1; 30 – 70% of juveniles incarcerated have experienced learning problems2; Adults with learning disabilities typically hold a job for only three months3. It costs approximate $35/day to educate a child at school. It costs approximately $300 per day to maintain a juvenile in a closed institution4. Each dollar invested in high risk children in the first six years saves taxpayers $7 later on in lower rates of youth crime, fewer numbers on social welfare and reduced pregnancy for young girls.5

    Recommendation 7: That the Government consider the expenditures for staff and services required to address the needs of our most vulnerable children as an investment in Ontario's future and not as an educational frill.

    _____________
    1 Statistics Canada. Adult Literacy in Canada; results of national study, 1991 p.9-10
    2 "Statistics on Learning Disabilities", by the Learning Disabilities Association of Canada. April, 1977
    3 ibid
    4 Average Cost Per Day to Incarcerate an Offender for the Fiscal Year April 1, 2000 to March 31, 2001, Ontario Ministry of Correctional Services
    5 Nicholas Bale, Associate Dean of Law at Queens University, Calgary Conference, November 30, 1997


    Summary of Recommendations:

    Recommendation 1: That the Ministry of Education adjust the funding formula to ensure that money provided in the Foundation Grant to school boards for special services professionals is used only for that purpose.

    Recommendation 2: That the Ministry of Education adjust the funding formula to provide school boards with additional funding for other needed staff, such as lunchroom and school yard supervisors, that boards have been paying from the Professional/Para-Professional envelope.

    Recommendation 3: That the Government adjust the provision for salaries in the funding formula to reflect what school boards must actually pay, allowing for inflation and market value.

    Recommendation 4: That the Ministry of Education immediately implement "live funding" and for this school year provide school boards with the additional money warranted by those students whose high needs have been demonstrated in approved ISA claims.

    Recommendation 5: That the Ministry of Education recognize that school board staff have an understanding of the particular needs of their students, and continue to provide support through the Local Priority Amount and Learning Opportunities Grant as they implement programs unique to their community to assist them.

    Recommendation 6: That the Ministry of Education increase the per pupil allocation for Professional/Para-Professional support to ensure all students – both "exceptional" and "non-exceptional" – have access to the assessment, counselling and other interventions needed to fulfill their educational potential.

    Recommendation 7: That the Government consider the expenditures for staff and services required to address the needs of children at risk as an investment in Ontario's future and not as an educational frill.