Classroom Overcrowding Prompts Quebec to Reconsider Inclusion of Students with Disabilities in General Education

The Quebec Department of Education, along with the Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers and francophone teachers’ unions, hosted a forum on October 25, 2010 to discuss overcrowding in schools and potential implications for the Province’s integration policy for children with disabilities.

According to the Ministière de l’Education, de Loisir, et Sport du Québec, children with disabilities consist of nearly one-fifth of the student population in Quebec; and of those students, almost two-thirds are being integrated into general education classes.  

 Due to rising overcrowding in schools, teachers and parents are considering proposals which would reduce the number of students with disabilities present in the general education classroom, in an effort to reduce class size.   Many parents have sought their own solution to the overcrowding issue by choosing to enroll their children in private schools.  Now, over 18 percent of Quebecois high-schoolers are enrolled in private schools, which often do not serve children with disabilities.

“Why are we here? Because it doesn’t make sense anymore. The regular classroom is overflowing,” said Denis Roy, a teacher from Rimouski who held a sign that said “Maximum 10 per cent.”  The local teachers union has called for a limit of 10 per cent of students with disabilities integrated into each general education classroom.

“We integrate too much," Roy said. "It’s not because we’re against integration. It’s an excellent thing in itself. But at a given moment there’s a limit, which we’ve surpassed."

Two years ago, Quebec’s education minister unveiled an action plan to promote success for students with disabilities. It promised guidelines for their successful integration into general education classrooms, yet those guidelines were never defined.

As a result of this recent forum, stakeholders will develop a plan to address the success of students with disabilities in the general education classroom by next June.  Initial components of this plan include:

• Encouraging parents to become more involved in the preparation and follow-up of their child’s individualized education plan;
• Creating an outline for an individualized education plan that all Quebec schools can use to support students; and
• Developing “straightforward” guidelines for the composition of regular classes.

CEC will continue to monitor and report on the development of the forum’s recommendations. 

Statistics source: http://www.mels.gouv.qc.ca/sections/publications/publications/EPEPS/Formation_jeunes/Adaptation_scolaire/RencontrePartEduc_DocAppuiReflexion_RencIntegrationElevesHandDiff.pdf

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