Apparently the NDP are taking the opportunity to call the government to task for the current three year limitation on the tuition support program. You will recall that we discussed that program previously in the context of the recent French language special education decision. The Chronicle Herald reports today that the Department of Education is preparing 41 letters to parents who have "used up their eligibility" refusing further support under the program. NDP education critic Bill Estabrooks wants the three year limit removed. No doubt that stance will make him the friend of many, many parents.
The Department notes that the issue will be addressed in the latest version of a Special Education report to be released tomorrow. Anyone who has been on this merry-go-round for a while will remember the release of a similar report in June, 2001. It should be interesting to see what the Department comes up with this time.
Whether or not the issue of tution support is on your radar screen, it really couldn't hurt to make sure you get a copy of this most recent report from the Department, give it a quick look-over and then file it away for future reference. Although far from binding, such reports can sometimes prove useful when dealing with your school board on a particular issue or even if you find you find yourself in court at some point advocating for your child's rights. If your particular issue is dealt with in a manner favourable to you in the report, it's worth having a copy of the document and bringing it to your lawyer's attention. He may or may not be able to put it to any significant use but it just makes sense to always have as many resources at hand as possible.
Update: Apparently, the Report was released today, not Thursday as reported in the Chronicle Herald. I bet you just can't wait to get your hands on it, right?
No comments:
Post a Comment