Ministry of Education releases memo to school boards regarding in-person learning for students with special needs

BY PAUL JUNOR

There is much confusion that remains as students with special needs head back to the classroom after the April school break. These students will be exposed to in-person learning while the rest of students will be learning from remote schooling.

On Wednesday, April 14^th, heads of unions representing Toronto public schools sent a letter to Dr DeVilla, Toronto’s top medical doctor regarding their concerns.

They want teachers who work in special education schools and their students to stay home until the teachers are vaccinated and the vaccines have taken full effect.

The letter states, “We do not need to tell you that the numbers warrant this. You see them before we do. We do not need to tell you that these students are the

most medically fragile in our system. You already know this. No one wants these students languishing at home, but even more, no one wants these students or their educators to get sick. We urge you to order all schools and programs closed, going virtual, until vaccinated.”

In response to these concerns and others, the Ministry of Education released a  memo  on Friday, April 16^th, 2021 to provide directions to school boards with respect to specific issues that are connected to the in-person learning of students with special education needs. The memo notes, “Most students with special education needs will be learning remotely during this period. In-person support should be reserved for students who cannot be accommodated through remote learning.”

The letter notes that there are certain criteria that special education needs to meet in order to qualify for in-person learning. This was outlined in an email that was sent to the board of education on April 8^th, 2021. There was an expectation that these staff would be vaccinated during the April school break, but unfortunately this did not occur because of the lack of vaccine supply and glitches in booking appointments.

The memo notes that there are specific issues that have to be addressed with respect to the return of students to in-person learning. The memo states, “The input and advice of special education staff working with students should also be sought to develop strategies to support students with special education needs, who face difficulty maintaining physical distancing and are unable to wear masks for medical reasons. It is expected that these will be relatively rare cases.”

The memo address issues with respect to COVID-19 school screening and access to asymptomatic testing as well as other health and safety measures. There will be additional daily screening measures in place for elementary students and there will be a continuation of asymptomatic testing. It will be up to the school board to ensure that ASTM level 2 use masks and eye protection, in addition to standard PPE are available to those education workers who have to work in these settings.

The Ontario Secondary Teachers Federation (OSSTF) Toronto Teachers bargaining unit sent a letters to its members on Saturday, April 17^th, 2021 which indicate that they have asked for information from TDSB regarding what it will do next week, such as:

• Which special education students will be offered in-person learning after the break? All, or just those with particular needs? What is the criterion for determining which students will be able to learn in-person?
• Will there be PPE put in place in addition to that already available?
• Will members working with students who are unable to consistently wear a mask be provided with N95 masks? If so, when?
• Will the Board allow in-person special education workers to remain virtual until vaccinated + 2 weeks to allow the vaccination to take effect?
• Which OSSTF Toronto members will the TDSB require being in person?
• When will our members be informed of the TDSB’s expectations in relation to return to in-person learning?

The letter concludes, “Today we asked the provincial Executive what plans, if any, are being considered by OSST/FESSO and/ or the Ontario Federation of Labour to bring organized labour together to fight back on behalf of these workers whose voice is not heard or considered by Ford, his government and our own members who continue to be required to continue to work in person.”

There is much hope that the government will respond quickly to address these very important matters.