Latest news with #IndividualizedEducationPlans
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
CUPE Alberta Calls on Minister Nicolaides to Prevent Education Crisis After Federal Funding Cuts
EDMONTON, Alberta, June 06, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CUPE Alberta is sounding the alarm over a looming crisis in the province's K–12 education system as hundreds of educational assistants (EAs) across the province face job losses following the withdrawal of most of the federal Jordan's Principle funding for non-reserve schools. Jordan's Principle is a federal policy intended to ensure First Nations children receive the services they need without delay, including in education, health care, and social services. In Alberta, this funding has helped support educational assistants in public schools, benefiting both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. In a powerful open letter sent to Minister of Education and Childcare Demetrios Nicolaides, Wendy Harman, President of CUPE 5543, warned that the cuts would be "catastrophic" for students with complex learning needs, behavioural challenges, and those on Individualized Education Plans. "This will devastate our Alberta schools," wrote Harman. "Now, we are actively choosing to let more children fall through the cracks, and those cracks are growing into chasms." Harman cited alarming figures from Parkland School Division, where some schools will see their EA staffing slashed by more than half, dropping from 11 assistants to just 5 for student populations of over 600. "Our EAs are not 'extras,'" she continued. "They are qualified professionals who de-escalate crisis situations, manage diverse learning needs, and play a critical role in allowing classroom teachers to teach." CUPE Alberta President Raj Uppal echoed the concerns and called on the provincial government to immediately step in with targeted funding to protect front-line education supports. "Educational assistants are the backbone of inclusive classrooms," said Uppal. "When we cut EAs, we fail students who need support the most. The Minister must act now, because these cuts affect every student in Alberta who relies on additional help to succeed." CUPE Alberta is urging the province to demonstrate real leadership by reversing the EA cuts, restoring jobs, and investing in a public education system that supports all children. clc/cope 491 View source version on Contacts Erin RolfsonCommunications Representativeerolfson@ | 403.795.5678 Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Wire
3 days ago
- Politics
- Business Wire
CUPE Alberta Calls on Minister Nicolaides to Prevent Education Crisis After Federal Funding Cuts
EDMONTON, Alberta--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CUPE Alberta is sounding the alarm over a looming crisis in the province's K–12 education system as hundreds of educational assistants (EAs) across the province face job losses following the withdrawal of most of the federal Jordan's Principle funding for non-reserve schools. Jordan's Principle is a federal policy intended to ensure First Nations children receive the services they need without delay, including in education, health care, and social services. In Alberta, this funding has helped support educational assistants in public schools, benefiting both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. In a powerful open letter sent to Minister of Education and Childcare Demetrios Nicolaides, Wendy Harman, President of CUPE 5543, warned that the cuts would be 'catastrophic' for students with complex learning needs, behavioural challenges, and those on Individualized Education Plans. 'This will devastate our Alberta schools,' wrote Harman. 'Now, we are actively choosing to let more children fall through the cracks, and those cracks are growing into chasms.' Harman cited alarming figures from Parkland School Division, where some schools will see their EA staffing slashed by more than half, dropping from 11 assistants to just 5 for student populations of over 600. 'Our EAs are not 'extras,'' she continued. 'They are qualified professionals who de-escalate crisis situations, manage diverse learning needs, and play a critical role in allowing classroom teachers to teach.' CUPE Alberta President Raj Uppal echoed the concerns and called on the provincial government to immediately step in with targeted funding to protect front-line education supports. 'Educational assistants are the backbone of inclusive classrooms,' said Uppal. 'When we cut EAs, we fail students who need support the most. The Minister must act now, because these cuts affect every student in Alberta who relies on additional help to succeed.' CUPE Alberta is urging the province to demonstrate real leadership by reversing the EA cuts, restoring jobs, and investing in a public education system that supports all children. clc/cope 491
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Researchers recommend changes to special ed funding under state formula review
Mar. 26—State researchers on Wednesday recommended changes to special education funding and regional salary adjustments as part of an ongoing examination of the fairness of Maine's oft-critiqued school funding formula. The recommendations from the Maine Educational Policy Research Institute, a nonpartisan wing of the University of Maine System that works with legislators, are part of an ongoing effort to update the two-decade-old formula, which the Legislature initiated last year. Many education leaders and lawmakers say that it fails to account for growing needs like special education, multilingual learners and homeless students. The research group, known as MEPRI, kicked off its presentations last month with data trends and superintendent perspectives and continued Wednesday morning with briefings on two specific aspects of the formula: regional salary adjustments and special education funding. SPECIAL EDUCATION One of the issues that education leaders have been most vocal about is special education, which has evolved significantly since the formula was created. Maine spent about $517 million on special education in 2023, which accounts for about 20% of all education spending. More and more Maine students are in need of special education, with rates of autism rising by 86% over the past decade, and the state's overall special needs student rate rising from 16% to 20%. Maine also has one of the nation's highest rates of special education students. The current special education funding model starts with the number of students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), then makes additional adjustments for students with more intense needs or those who attend out-of-district specialty programs. But then that number gets compared to the district's total special ed spending from the previous year, and if it's higher than the calculated value, the district just gets that higher amount. "At the end of the day, for many districts — not all — it's based really on how much they're spending," Amy Johnson, co-director of MEPRI, said. Superintendents have critiqued this model as allowing wealthier districts that are able to spend more on special education to inherently received greater state funding. Johnson said the model has several outdated elements, and the expenditure-driven model raises equity concerns. "More money goes to districts that probably have more ability to pay," Johnson said. The wealthiest districts are getting much more funding per pupil than the poorest districts. The wealthiest third of districts get an average of $3,839 per students, while the poorest third of districts get $1,307 for each student, according to 2020 data Johnson presented. That's why MEPRI is suggesting a funding model based on different weights for students with different levels of need. Johnson proposed dividing students into two tiers based on the intensity of need. She said MEPRI needs more comprehensive data to suggest exactly what those weights should be and is still developing a model to suggest to lawmakers. That proposal, Johnson said, will be in the final report. REGIONAL ADJUSTMENTS The current funding formula also accounts for regional differences in salary in an effort to provide adequate staffing resources to districts in both high- and low-cost areas. Those adjustments are based on a "labor market area" model, wherein Maine is divided into different markets (like Greater Portland and Bangor) and each is assigned an adjustment — either higher or lower than the baseline — based on salary data in the area. "The reason that this is important is, if you are in a high-salary area of the state, you need more resources to be able to pay those salaries," said Johnson. She also said low-salary areas benefit from those adjustments to keep their tax rates down. But, Johnson explained, those labor markets are based on data from when the formula rolled out in 2005. She said MEPRI has recommended changes to the regional adjustments five times, but they've never been implemented because of legislators' fears that some districts will be negatively impacted while others will benefit. In the current report, the researchers compared five different adjustments to that model, including updating the salary data and introducing a floor or cap for the adjustments. Johnson said MEPRI prefers a scenario where the data is updated and both a floor and cap are added because it would keep the adjustments affordable and fair while accounting for shifts that have happened over time. But an even better method, she said, would be to switch to a model based on cost of living rather than on salary costs themselves. That information is already calculated and updated regularly by several outside agencies at a county level. "We believe that switching to cost of living is an improvement, partly because of the practical reasons of being able to tie it to an external index that can be updated over time, but also because we believe that using only salaries is capturing ability to pay, and not just labor market issues," she said. MEPRI has divided its report into five presentations that are being delivered to the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee over the course of the session. The next funding formula presentation, on districts' ability to pay, will be next month. The final report should be out by the end of April. Copy the Story Link
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
House bill would allow schools to limit cell phone use in classrooms
Mar. 14—dbeard @ MORGANTOWN — The House Education Committee is set to take action on a bill that would allow county school boards to set limits on student cell phone use on school grounds and in classrooms. HB 2003 came from Gov. Patrick Morrisey, but the version the committee will vote on is substantially different. Katie Franklin, Morrisey's deputy general counsel, explained the original version to the committee on Friday and to the Public Education subcommittee earlier in the week. The bill is intended to create a better learning environment for students by removing constant distractions, she said, and empower teachers to take better control of their classrooms. The introduced version begins, "Student cell phones shall not be seen, heard, or in use while the student is in the classroom, while school is in session." It prescribes storage, ringers, headphones and earbuds, and smart watches. It makes exceptions for hallways, lunches and other non-instructional times, emergencies and ADA and Humans Right Act regulations. The committee substitute that the full committee reviewed on Friday and will vote on next week avoids specific prescriptions. It opens with several legislative findings, including, "Personal electronic devices contribute to a negative classroom environment with increased concerns relating to distractions, academic misconduct, bullying and /or harassment and other inappropriate behaviors. Concerns regarding the mental health of students with unfettered access to personal electronic devices are well-documented and are believed to prohibit the age-appropriate development of relationships, study skills, and other necessary skills to be successful." This version requires county school boards to adopt a policy governing personal electronic devices, including if and when they are permitted on campus and in classrooms. It spells out various exceptions, including for students who have Individualized Education Plans that call for access to devices. It requires boards to set consequences for violations, including confiscation for the day and a permanent ban. David Gladkosky, executive director of West Virginia Professional Educators, told the full Education Committee on Friday, "This is a good bill and we're glad to see it going in place." A survey showed that 66 % of WVPE's members are interested in seeing a policy and 73 % want the policy to include exceptions for lunches and recess and such. Committee chair Joe Ellington, R-Mercer, told the members that the state Board of Education also has a policy under consideration. "Personal Electronic Device Usage in Schools " is open for public comment until March 20. Friday's meeting was devoted to a hearing of the bill. Markup and passage and recommendation to the full House is next.
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
House bill would allow schools to limit cell phone use in classrooms
Mar. 14—dbeard @ MORGANTOWN — The House Education Committee is set to take action on a bill that would allow county school boards to set limits on student cell phone use on school grounds and in classrooms. HB 2003 came from Gov. Patrick Morrisey, but the version the committee will vote on is substantially different. Katie Franklin, Morrisey's deputy general counsel, explained the original version to the committee on Friday and to the Public Education subcommittee earlier in the week. The bill is intended to create a better learning environment for students by removing constant distractions, she said, and empower teachers to take better control of their classrooms. The introduced version begins, "Student cell phones shall not be seen, heard, or in use while the student is in the classroom, while school is in session." It prescribes storage, ringers, headphones and earbuds, and smart watches. It makes exceptions for hallways, lunches and other non-instructional times, emergencies and ADA and Humans Right Act regulations. The committee substitute that the full committee reviewed on Friday and will vote on next week avoids specific prescriptions. It opens with several legislative findings, including, "Personal electronic devices contribute to a negative classroom environment with increased concerns relating to distractions, academic misconduct, bullying and /or harassment and other inappropriate behaviors. Concerns regarding the mental health of students with unfettered access to personal electronic devices are well-documented and are believed to prohibit the age-appropriate development of relationships, study skills, and other necessary skills to be successful." This version requires county school boards to adopt a policy governing personal electronic devices, including if and when they are permitted on campus and in classrooms. It spells out various exceptions, including for students who have Individualized Education Plans that call for access to devices. It requires boards to set consequences for violations, including confiscation for the day and a permanent ban. David Gladkosky, executive director of West Virginia Professional Educators, told the full Education Committee on Friday, "This is a good bill and we're glad to see it going in place." A survey showed that 66 % of WVPE's members are interested in seeing a policy and 73 % want the policy to include exceptions for lunches and recess and such. Committee chair Joe Ellington, R-Mercer, told the members that the state Board of Education also has a policy under consideration. "Personal Electronic Device Usage in Schools " is open for public comment until March 20. Friday's meeting was devoted to a hearing of the bill. Markup and passage and recommendation to the full House is next.
