Access to Special Education in Ontario in a Social Justice Context
Our research identified the following barriers and obstacles to access Special Education:
• Inability to access adequate programming to accommodate for learning disabilities, psychological and mental health factors and other special needs;
• Inability to build and sustain open, responsive, and reciprocal communication between parents and schools;
• Teachers working with special needs children lacked training, understanding and empathy;
• Schools lacked transparency by not presenting parents with the full spectrum of placements and services available to their children;
• Lack of implementation of Individual Education Plans (IEPs); and
• Schools being unable or unwilling to offer the full spectrum of programs and services provided for in their Special Education policies, either due to lack of openness or lack of resources.