Thoughts on Tuition Support

As a provincially-designated school for students with learning disabilities, our students are given the opportunity to apply for Tuition Support funding from the province of Nova Scotia.  If they meet the criteria as it's laid out by the Department of Education, they will receive a base amount of $7100 toward the cost of their tuition.  Families in need may receive supplementary funding up to 90% of the cost of tuition. 

Earlier this year, the Minister of Education announced changes to the program.  That has the Equal Education Association of Nova Scotia concerned.  Below you'll find an open letter on the issue from Wade Brummet, Chair of EEANS.

Rhonda

It seems every day we hear about how government services are under threat of cutbacks, so it all the more frustrating that this government would cave in to the Department of Education's misguided belief that inclusion is more important that education.


Tuition support transfers the basic funding unit allotted to every child in NS to a designated special needs school specializing in educating children with learning disabilities. Previous ministers and the HRSB have acknowledged that there is no way the current resources in the public system can provide a level of support near what these kids are able to get at the designated schools. What's more, every student attending these schools saves at least $7500.00/yr in special needs funding as they are not using the resources of the local community school. That means the students with less severe challenges benefit too.

So how could anyone possibly justify capping this program at an arbitrary time limit without consideration of the child's need? After the NDP spent years campaigning the previous government to abolish the time limit, they immediately flip over when coming to power. If it’s the right thing to do for the child's education and has the bonus of saving money, it makes you wonder who actually runs our province; Mr Dexter or the bureaucrats who apparently aren't interested in providing the best education for the dollar.

Wade Brummet, Chair

Equal Education Association of Nova Scotia
http://www.eeans.ca/