Autism advocate says B.C.'s back-to-school plan is failing students with special needs

Vancouver -

The vice-president of Autism BC's board of directors says the B.C. government's COVID-19 back-to-school plan is failing students with special needs.

Kaye Banez, who is also the parent of a child on the autism spectrum, says this year's plan is not only insufficient, it's a step back from last year's.

"We're actually doing less for the children than we were last year," Banez says. "The government and the schools and school stakeholders need to do more."

Students with disabilities have long faced exclusion from aspects of classroom activities and learning, an issue tracked by advocacy group BCeDAccess.

Banez says last year’s plan didn’t provide the proper resources – such as educational assistants – to students with special needs last year. In some cases, such students were sent home from school early.

"The children who really needed that one-on-one support, especially because of COVID, their safety and learning needs were not being met."

Banez says it's difficult – and often not possible – for her son Lazarus and other students with special needs to understand and follow COVID-19 safety measures without assistance.

This year's plan, which health officials released last week, does not have as many remote learning options as last year’s. Without the confidence that there will always be an educational assistant available to help her son navigate COVID-19 protocols, and without the option for him to complete the curriculum online, Banez says she’s had to make the tough decision to remove him from his elementary school. 

She says until the proper assisatnce is provided for her son to participate in in-person learning, he'll be enrolled in an online program seperate from his regular school.

"Advocates like us, for years, have tried to include our children in the school system, to meaningfully access education, but we’re going backwards, we are exiting, and that's the most disheartening thing," Banez says.

CTV News Vancouver reached out to the Ministry of Education for comment, but did not hear back in time for the publication of this story.