Minister of Education Mike Bernier just announced a million new dollars for private special education schools because, as he states: “All students in our province deserve a learning environment that helps them succeed.” He’s right...they do.
But I have a few questions:
How do ALL families who have kids with special needs afford the tuition to those special education private schools, Minister Bernier?
Your press release says that by doubling the number of private schools for special needs kids you are: “expanding choice for parents and support for some of our most vulnerable children.”
How does that “choice” thing work for parents who live paycheque to paycheque, single parent families, families in areas of the province where there are no private schools, and others who don’t have thousands of dollars for private education?
What real choice are you offering them?
So when you say, “These schools are offering tailored and specialized learning programs that help bring countless benefits to these children and their families,” shouldn’t that be available in ALL B.C. schools Minister Bernier?
And my last question: Do you really think we don’t understand that this is really all about the privatization of public education and shifting the financial responsibility for educating students with special needs onto their families?
Cathie Camley
Cowichan Valley