The Minister of Education, Jean-François Roberge, is reassuring about the future of the school for disabled students Madeleine-Bergeron, in Quebec. Funding reform for struggling students will be part of the solution, he says.
• Read also: Madeleine-Bergeron school: uncertain future of a school for the disabled
Tuesday, The newspaper reported the concerns of the Center de services scolaire des Découvreurs and the union of support staff regarding the funding of this school, which welcomes young people with severe disabilities, whose needs are very great.
The impasse with the Ministry of Education, which has lasted for more than a year, is still not resolved, had indicated the director general of this school service center, Christian Pleau.
However, the Minister of Education, Jean-François Roberge, claims to have “turned all the stones” to ensure that student services are not affected. He now claims that the “concerns” and “misunderstanding” surrounding the funding of this school are well and truly cleared up.
The new funding formula for exceptional students, which will no longer be based on codes linked to diagnoses, will be a game-changer for this school as for many others, he says.
“There will be no tighter budget,” and the number of students admitted will remain the same, he said.
This funding reform will come into effect from the start of the 2023 school year. In general, professionals in the school network will thus have more time to devote to student services, since they will have fewer diagnoses and reports to produce, explained Mr Roberge.
According to the Ministry of Education, at least 375,000 working hours could be freed up for direct student services once the new measures are implemented.
Reference-www.journaldequebec.com