So much for Great Goals for Literacy and People with Disabilities

Court deals blow to disabled students

Catherine Rolfsen, Vancouver Sun
Published: Sunday, March 02, 2008

METRO VANCOUVER - The B.C. Supreme Court has quashed a landmark human rights tribunal ruling that advocates hoped would mean major changes for students with learning disabilities in B.C. schools.

In a written decision released Friday, the court overturned a 2005 ruling that the B.C. Education Ministry and the North Vancouver school board discriminated against learning-disabled students when it failed to give them proper support.

The tribunal decision hinged on the case of Jeffrey Moore, who struggled with dyslexia for four years in public school before his parents pulled him out in favour of a costly private school.


"We're extremely disappointed," said his father, Rick Moore, of the court's ruling. "It doesn't seem right to me that the only learning-disabled children who are given a chance to succeed are the ones whose parents can afford an expensive private school education."

The tribunal had ordered the ministry to provide full funding for the education of severely learning-disabled students. But with Friday's decision, Rick Moore worries that other students will continue to face Jeffrey's challenges at public school.

Rick Moore said he has not decided whether to appeal the decision.

The Learning Disabilities Association of B.C. estimates that one in 10 Canadian students has a learning disability such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia or dyscalculia.
North Vancouver was in a financial squeeze between 1992 and 1995 when Jeffrey was a young student at Braemar elementary school.

Although identified as a learning-disabled student and referred to a special district facility called DC1, that facility was closed just weeks later to save money.

Jeffrey's parents elected to send him to Kenneth Gordon, a Burnaby school for students with specific learning disabilities, which cost the family nearly $100,000 for nine years. There, his reading skills and self-esteem skyrocketed, his father said.

Jeffrey is now a 21-year-old apprentice plumber. But his father believes that had he remained in public schools, he probably would have dropped out.

Rick Moore said identification and assistance for learning disabled students has worsened since Jeffrey left public school.

"Right now it seems like learning-disabled students are invisible and the education system can ignore them," he said.

Education Minister Shirley Bond was unavailable for an interview Sunday, and the North Vancouver school board chair could not be reached for comment.

The court's decision found the tribunal failed to establish "differential treatment" of severely learning-disabled students such as Jeffrey.

"The DC1 was one of many models for delivery of specialized services to [severely learning disabled] and other special needs students..." wrote Justice Janice Dillon. "Moore was not completely denied a service. In fact, he was provided with a number of accommodations."
Thealzel Lee, president of the Learning Disabilities Association of B.C., said the ruling shows that the provincial government has not yet taken responsibility for educating all children.
Lee said a recent survey of about 350 parents by her association found that 61 per cent felt the system poorly met or failed to meet their children's needs, while just over half believed that their child's teachers were knowledgeable about learning disabilities.

A Langley inquiry into special education published earlier this year identified several province-wide problems, including underfunding, lack of resources in classrooms, and inadequate teacher training to deal with special needs.

crolfsen@png.canwest.com

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=aea7331a-eb6b-4cf7-900d-d3a9c8c4c549&k=2270