Special Education: A Guide for Educators, 2001:

Coordinated Services Initiative

• Parents have identified a need to improve planning for children transitioning into school from: early intervention programs to school, such as the Intensive Early Intervention Program for Children with Autism and the Pre-School Speech and Language Initiative; Children’s Treatment Centres; day nursery programs and home. The Ministry of Education, in collaboration with MCFCS and MOHLTC, is developing a guideline, which will require school boards to develop transition plans for these children in collaboration with their service providers.

• Because the responsibility for certain health care and support services is divided between school boards and health care agencies, parents, educational partners and stakeholders have identified gaps in needed services. The Ministry of Education, in collaboration with MCFCS and MOHLTC, will develop policies that will lead to better coordination in the provision of speech and language services, Occupational

Therapy and Physiotherapy (OT/PT), Assistive Devices and Adaptive Equipment.

• The Ministry of Education, in collaboration with MCFCS, MOHLTC and key stakeholders, will be conducting a comprehensive review of psychosocial services offered in school, which when completed, will identify service demand; gaps and issues with services, and will identify practices that effectively coordinate children’s mental health services with school boards.

Suspension Provisions (Under the Education Act, 2000, relevant sections (306-308)

*****Suspension or Expulsion is not mandatory under limited circumstances*****

(a) the pupil does not have the ability to control his or her behaviour;

(b) the pupil does not have the ability to understand the foreseeable consequences of his or her behaviour;

(c) the continuing presence of the pupil in the school does not create an unacceptable risk to the safety or well-being of any person.