By Darlene Casten
Reporter
The Foothills School Division (FSD) is welcoming a review of special needs funding by the provincial government.
Currently, school divisions only receive extra funding for students with the most severe special needs, including serious autism cases or those with crippling physical disabilities. The province provides school divisions with $15,000 per severely disabled student. The school division then distributes the money.
The province has been increasing funding for severe special needs yearly, but the increases were not based on the actual growth per division of severe special needs students. The government instead gave the same increase to every school division across the province.
Late last year school divisions were asked to send in profiles of each severe special needs student to find out where the numbers sat in each division. The province reviewed each file and has decided to review the system.
“We know there is a gap between the policy and the criteria and how it is applied out there,” said Alberta Education spokesperson Kathy Telfer.
FSD trustee Jerry Muelaner said the system created disparities as some school divisions were over funded, while others struggled to pay for special needs programs.
“When you create these profiles (of special needs students) for different jurisdictions you create winners and losers,” Muelaner said.
Deputy superintendent Denise Rose said the Foothills School Division is not one of the have-not divisions, but said the review could still result in big changes local s students.
Rose said many times students with severe special needs actually require fewer resources than those with mild to moderate special needs.
Funding for students categorized with mild to moderate special needs or as gifted and talented special needs is lumped in with the basic instructional grant of $5,400 given for every student. In the past Alberta Education has said approximately $300 of that money should be allocated to students with less severe disabilities.
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