Nova Scotia’s Commission on Inclusive Education has wrapped up the public engagement process.
It was charged with taking a hard look at inclusive education, coming out with a new model and a strategic plan.
The commission issued an interim report last June which found inclusive education is largely failing both special needs students and their peers.
The chair, Dr. Sarah Shea says their work isn’t over yet.
She says more than five thousand parents, educators and students participated in public consultations from December 15 to January 30.
Dr. Shea says they are now at the stage of “distilling” all the great ideas and concerns that were presented.
“So we’re in the process of taking that information and capturing, coming up with a paper that will reflect what we’ve learned and more importantly, the recommendations for change.”
Dr. Shea says she was overwhelmed, in a positive way, in the interest that people showed in the commission’s work.
“That interest is still happening. As recently as this morning someone reached out in spite of the fact that official public consultations have finished. So when we say we’ve heard from five thousand people, that number continues to increase.”
She says the final report will be delivered to the government and the NSTU on March 24th.
