Special Education Services: A Manual of Policies, Procedures and GuidelinesRoles and Responsibilities B.4 Parents Parents play a vital role in the education of their children with special needs by working in partnership with educators and other service personnel (Please refer to the glossary for definition of parent). Parents are entitled under the School Act (section 7 (1) and (2)) to be informed of a student's attendance, behaviour and progress in school, and to receive, on request, annual reports respecting general effectiveness of educational programs in the school district. They are entitled to examine all records kept by the board pertaining to their child, in accordance with the provisions of section 9 of the School Act. Ministerial Order 150/89, the Special Needs Students Order, requires that parents be offered a consultation regarding the placement of their student with special needs. Parents of students with special needs know a great deal about their children that can be helpful to school personnel in planning educational programs for them. Districts are therefore advised to involve parents in the planning, development and implementation of educational programs for their children. This consultation should be sought in a timely and supportive way, and the input of parents respected and acknowledged. Parents also have a responsibility to support the education of their children. They must enrol their school-age child in an educational program in a school district or independent school or distributed learning school, or register the child prior to September 30 in home education (School Act, sections 3 (1) and 13 (1)). At the request of the teacher or principal, vice principal or director of instruction, a parent must consult with respect to the student's educational program (School Act, section 7(2)). School staff members need to be aware of any special factors which may place a child with special needs or other children at risk. Districts are advised to structure their registration procedures to ensure that parents are given an opportunity to inform staff of any such special factors on a need-to-know basis, without violating the privacy of the individual or the family. For children in care, boards should ensure that the guardian is receiving relevant information from the school. |
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