School Issues

All parents want their children to develop their individual potentials and to become the best they can be. As parents and as a society, one way that we can help our children achieve this goal is through education that meets their needs as individuals. The Ministry of Education, in their skills and training mission statement, specifies:

• If children are gifted, or have special talents or abilities, their educational programs must ensure they continue to be challenged in their learning.
• If children have disabilities, their programs need to respond to their particular learning needs

The B.C. School Act requires a school board to make an educational program available to all persons of school age who live and enroll in the schools in the province.

The Individual Education Plan Ministerial Order requires school boards to design, review and implement Individual Education Plans for those students who have been identified as having special needs. A student with special needs is considered to have one or more of the following:

• An intellectual, physical, sensory, emotional or behavioral disability
• A learning disability
• Exceptional gifts or talents