Archived News
Teachers' Federation responds to Minister Bond's plans for special schools - Liberals step back in time
BCTF News Release
February 15, 2007
BC's Liberal government will turn back the clock if it proceeds with plans to establish "model schools" to segregate students with special needs.
Inclusion of students with special needs in regular classrooms began in BC in the 1980s when parents and teachers pushed for an end to the discrimination many of these children faced in the public education system of the day. "What the Liberals are proposing is disgraceful," says Jinny Sims, president of the BC Teachers' Federation. "Every student has the right to participate in all academic and social aspects in their neighbourhood school. All students benefit from inclusion, because of the magic that happens when all students share and learn with others. Inclusion is a microcosm of our society, and segregation is never a good idea."
Inclusion of students with special needs in BC has been government policy for almost 20 years. Sims says, "Inclusion works when classrooms are provided the resources and supports needed. Rather than provide those services, the Liberal government is washing its hands of its responsibility for our most vulnerable students. We are alarmed by this move to discriminate and exclude students with special needs. We fear for all of our students."
Sims says students with special needs deserve to be viewed with the respect that comes when they are considered the same as other students, not as different from other students. "As a society, we have moved toward a more inclusive view of all individuals. What the Liberals are proposing is discriminatory. We urge the Campbell government to reconsider its plans to open exclusionary public schools and instead, support the public education system by adequately funding the province's classrooms."
