P.E.I. making 'exceedingly slow' progress on child advocate recommendations, report says

The province's progress toward improving support for neurodiverse students in Prince Edward Island schools has been "exceedingly slow," says a new report from the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate. 

The office provided recommendations to the province last summer aimed at removing barriers to learning for children who have complex educational support and behavioural needs. 

Ten months later, none of the five recommendations has been fully implemented, which is considered a negative outcome, said Marvin Bernstein, the province's child and youth advocate. 

"Parents and students don't have the luxury of waiting years for their circumstances to change in a positive direction," Bernstein said. 

Right now, some students with autism and other complex needs are taken out of mainstream classrooms for behavioural issues, and other learning options aren't always made available. 

Every child has a right to access an education.— Marvin Bernstein

"We've taken the position that to deny students — children — who are at home, who are kind of in a state of limbo, is a denial of their rights," he said, noting that in Canada there are guaranteed rights to an education, to equal protection under the law, and to non-discrimination on the basis of a disability. 

'Frustrated or bored'

There are a lot of negative impacts that come with removing students from the classroom, Bernstein said. 

"For one thing, when we talk to those students who are not in schools, in many situations they describe themselves as being frustrated or bored, they don't understand the reasoning, they feel stigmatized," he said. 

Building and maintaining friendships with other students can also be more difficult for students who are excluded from classrooms, Bernstein said. 

"Every child has a right to access an education. It can look different for different students, but they shouldn't be denied that particular right," he said. 

It's not just students who feel the effects of removals, Bernstein said: "In many cases, the parents are exhausted, or they're being called on short order."

Many parents are not equipped to school their children at home, he said, and some have had to quit their jobs to care for children who are barred from classroom learning. 

"If students can't access alternative education programming, there needs to be more structure and more support for them to benefit from education while at home." 

Bernstein said Section 9 of the Education Act — which enables the minister of education to establish and provide alternative education programming for those who can't attend schools — has been under-utilized. 

Next steps 

Bernstein said that when the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate put forward its five recommendations last summer, his hope was that they would be either fully or substantially implemented by now. 

Two of the recommendations have been ranked as partially implemented, while three have been ranked at the level of no implementation, he said. 

"There's a need to do better, because the children in this province deserve that kind of approach and that kind of support," he said. 

In an email statement to CBC News, the Department of Education and Early Years said the province supports the work of the advocate's office. 

"The right to education is one that the department respects and shares with the OCYA," it said. "Where accommodations are necessary for more complex situations, the two education authorities work closely with the families and the individual school administration and staff to develop a tailored plan to support learning. This may include individual education plans, reintegration plans, etc."

The email also said the province has been developing an inclusive education action plan and plans to implement its first phase this fall.

"It was... determined that having further, targeted engagement with interested parties involved with children with complex education needs as well as partners in early years education would further enhance how the inclusive action plan and its implementation plan could meet the needs of those it intends to support in the public education system," the statement said. 

Bernstein said that while the province's commitment to implementing an inclusive education action plan is positive, any such plan must address all of the recommendations from his office.