tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597280951717401652.post2006368986345716888..comments2023-10-26T05:17:53.771-03:00Comments on A Primer on Special Needs and the Law: Breaking NewsMichelle Morgan-Coolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03671529553739362752noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597280951717401652.post-34073059327838013402012-11-23T12:14:58.160-04:002012-11-23T12:14:58.160-04:00Thanks so much! That was what I was asking. Mayb...Thanks so much! That was what I was asking. Maybe this is the reason our board has been referring to cuts in services as new "models" of service. For example cutting aides is not said to be for budgetary concerns but rather a move toward more independence for students, services that are cut said to be moving to a new model of delivery. I guess the boards have been mindful of the possibility that the SC would rule the way they have in all recent communications about "new models of service delivery"! They are no longer using budgetary concerns as reasons for special ed program/service cuts.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597280951717401652.post-15036963697538442472012-11-23T12:13:57.966-04:002012-11-23T12:13:57.966-04:00Thanks so much! That was what I was asking. Mayb...Thanks so much! That was what I was asking. Maybe this is the reason our board has been referring to cuts in services as new "models" of service. For example cutting aides is not said to be for budgetary concerns but rather a move toward more independence for students, services that are cut said to be moving to a new model of delivery. I guess the boards have been mindful of the possibility that the SC would rule the way they have in all recent communications about "new models of service delivery"! They are no longer using budgetary concerns as reasons for special ed program/service cuts.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597280951717401652.post-6709283957843486452012-11-21T20:38:52.012-04:002012-11-21T20:38:52.012-04:00I know for a fact that Boards in NS spend more on ...I know for a fact that Boards in NS spend more on special ed than the provincial allotment and I expect the situation is likely the same in other provinces as well. <br /><br />But if I am understanding your concern correctly - if you are concerned that Bds will be able to cut special ed services because they are spending mroe than the provincial allotment, the answer is a definte No. This is exactly what the Moore decision spoke to when the SCC said that the fact that the province had cut funding was NOT an excuse for the school bd to cut special ed services. In fact to do so (at least in the way the Board had - without deciding how they would serve the students who needed that service and at the same time saving another non-special ed program at approximately the same cost as the LD program - was discrimination. So it is now clear - a province failing to provide sufficient funding for special ed is NOT an acceptable excuse for a Board to cut services. <br /><br />However, the one place where the decision is not helpful to students with disabilities is that the court did not find the Province's cuts, themselves, to be discriminatory, which, unfortunately leaves a situtation where Boards may have to take the entire hit from the Province's failure ot provide proper funding. The court didn't say the Province could never be found liable, just that the evidence was too remote in this case. Unfortunately, it failed to state what kind of evidence it would have found persuasive against the Province.<br /><br />But if I misunderstood what you were saying, please try again.Michelle Morgan-Coolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03671529553739362752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597280951717401652.post-88383552890165745732012-11-21T15:38:26.381-04:002012-11-21T15:38:26.381-04:00Do you think that the fact that some (probably all...Do you think that the fact that some (probably all) of our school boards spend more than their provincially allocated amounts on special ed will have implications on the interpretation of the ruling in this province? I know nothing about the law, but as I read more about this decision, I'm wondering more about the boards being able to cut services by saying that they are providing more than the province is funding.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com