BC Guide for Independent Schools

Special Education Programs and Funding

This section includes:

Special Education Grant Criteria for Independent Schools

Special education grants are a specific type of special purpose grant. Annual applications from Group 1 and 2 independent schools and certified Distributed Learning (DL) programs for special education grants must be supported by the submission of significant documentation of the student's disability, including specific scores verifying the student's status. All students claimed must meet the specific criteria, be assessed by appropriately qualified professionals and have the approval of the Special Education Provincial Review Committee appointed by the Inspector of Independent Schools.

General Requirements
Special Education grants are made available to Group 1 and 2 independent schools which provide a special education service to qualifying students, as determined by the Independent School Act.

Students claimed for special education funding must be receiving an additional service which:

  • is over and above the regular program;
  • is clearly identifiable as a Special Education Program or service; and,
  • requires additional expenditures on the part of the school.

Each student claimed must have an Individual Education Plan (IEP) as outlined in Section 1.1 of Ministerial Order 41/91, the Educational Standards Order. The special education program or service must be in place before funding is provided.

Students claimed for such services must be assessed by appropriately qualified professionals. These may include, for example: psychologists, teachers of the hearing impaired, teachers of the visually impaired, and, developmental assessment teams, such as those at Sunny Hill Hospital for Sick Children, B.C. Children's Hospital or local Child Development Centers. Approval of all applications requires the submission of appropriate documentation of the student's disability - including specific scores verifying the student's status.

Independent school authorities and their administration team will need to demonstrate at external evaluations and monitoring inspections that the special education grants received have been expended to meet the special need of the qualifying student(s).

Schools must ensure that each qualifying student has a completed and current Individual Education Plan (IEP) and Case Management Plan (CMP) (336KB Word).

Special education funding for needs described below, is already included in the regular operational grants issued to independent schools. Therefore, the following categories do not qualify for additional special education funding or grants:

  • English as a Second Language (ESL)
  • Learning Assistance
  • Speech and Language Services
  • Learning Disabilities including Severe Learning Disabilities (SLD)
  • Mild Intellectual Disabilities (Mild Mental Handicap)

Special Education Grant Levels and Specific Categories

Special Needs Levels and Categories - A listing of specific Special Education grant levels and categories with grant amounts.

Special Education Schools

Special education schools are independent schools which exclusively serve students with learning disabilities, behavioural disorders, or who are deaf or hard of hearing, requiring instruction in groups of five or fewer students for the majority of the school day. The only schools included are those which were funded before mainstreaming became the norm in the public school system, were recognized by the Office of the Inspector of Independent Schools, and received funding as independent special education schools during the 1991/1992 school year. These schools are Discovery School, Fraser Academy, Glen Eden School, James Cameron School, Kenneth Gordon School and the Vancouver Oral Centre for Deaf Children.

Auditory Training Equipment (ATE)

Assessment of the need for Auditory Training Equipment is provided by the Ministry of Health Services. Funding for purchase, repair, routine maintenance, replacement and monitoring of provincial requirements for Auditory Training Equipment in the B.C. public schools and Group 1 and 2 independent schools is provided through the Ministry of Education through a protocol agreement with the Ministry of Health Services. The local Health Unit or Health Department audiologist is responsible for ongoing monitoring and adjustment of the equipment.

For information regarding the rental of appropriate auditory training equipment.

Provincial Resource Centre for the Visually Impaired (PRCVI)

The Ministry of Education has established a central pool of essential specialized instructional resources that may be borrowed at no cost by school districts and Group 1 and 2 independent schools enrolling visually impaired students. In addition, PRCVI is able to access resources held in all other educational resources centres for the visually impaired in Canada, through a national interlibrary loan agreement.

For information regarding the borrowing of specialized educational resources, see www.bced.gov.bc.ca/specialed/ppandg/2_3equipment.htm

Special Education Technology-BC (SET-BC)

SET-BC is a Provincial Resource Program established to assist school districts, and Group 1 and 2 independent schools in supporting educational programs of special needs students through the use of technology. School districts and independent schools receive services for students who demonstrate restricted access to the curriculum primarily due to physical handicap, autism and/or visual impairment.

To access SET-BC services, the student must be approved for Level 1 or 2 funding and be described by one or more of the following disability groups: physical handicapped, visual impairment, dependent or multiple handicap or autism. In addition, the student access to the curriculum is restricted by his/her disability.

Information about the SET-BC application process for independent schools is available on the SET-BC web site.