The Alberta Teachers’ Association

Inclusion

The challenges of inclusive education have been an ongoing concern for a significant period of time.

In 1978, in a landmark decision in what is referred to as the Carriere case, the Honourable Justice M J O’Byrne ruled that it is the responsibility of the local school jurisdiction to provide an educational program for all children. A decade later, the revised Education Act affirmed, in section 3, “Every person who . . . is 6 years of age or older and younger than 19 years of age . . . is entitled to have access in that school year to an education program . . .’’ The current Education Act maintains this responsibility.

An inclusive education system is a way of thinking and acting that demonstrates universal acceptance of, and belonging for, all students. Inclusive education in Alberta means a value-based approach to accepting responsibility for all students. It also means that all students will have equitable opportunity to be included in the typical learning environment or program of choice. The goal of inclusive education is to instill in students a sense of belonging and to help them achieve their full potential. The Association recognizes inclusion as a broad and complex term and therefore it is critical that collaborative planning takes place at the provincial, jurisdiction and school levels to build understanding and support for the vision of inclusive education and to create short-, medium- and long-term implementation plans to guide the work. The Association supports the ideals of inclusion, with the provision that students with exceptionalities are placed in the most enabling environments, as determined by teachers in consultation with other professionals.

The learning environment must meet student needs and ensure that the following conditions are in place:

• teachers and staff are provided with information about the individual needs of each student;
• students with exceptionalities and other students in the same class have been prepared for inclusion;
• teachers are provided with ongoing professional development;
• regular access to professional support services (such as consulting and health support services) is provided;
• appropriately trained educational assistants are provided;
• appropriate resources, including assistive technology, are provided;
• class size is reduced to effectively meet the needs of all students;
• regular instructional time for the teacher is reduced to allow for documents such as individual program plans;
• learning opportunities are provided for students who are gifted and talented, through a balance of acceleration and enrichment; and
• school boards have policies for handling emergency situations in schools that contain appropriate, specific procedures for individual students with exceptionalities.

Teacher Position

What should a teacher do when dealing with medical requirements? What steps can be taken to minimize teacher liability?

First, the teacher should protest the assignment to the principal and the superintendent. Clause 8 of the Code of Professional Conduct requires that teachers protest assignments and conditions which make it difficult to render professional service. This clause reads, “The teacher protests the assignment of duties for which the teacher is not qualified or conditions that make it difficult to render professional service.’’

Second, the teacher should insist that medical assistance be provided by a trained individual to fulfill the special needs of students.

Third, if suitable arrangements are not made in response to the first two steps, the teacher should contact the Association for assistance to alleviate the problem.

Finally, if a board insists that the student requiring medical assistance be placed in a regular classroom, the parents of the pupils should be informed that teachers are not qualified to provide appropriate assistance for the child and do not accept responsibility for the child’s medical needs.

However, once a teacher accepts students with medical problems, there is no doubt about the effect on the teacher’s legal responsibility. An Alberta court case deals with the duty owed by a teacher to a student who was deaf and mute. The court described that duty, in part, as follows.

“The fact that this particular school deals with those that are handicapped through being deaf and dumb* undoubtedly increases the degree of care that would be expected because I am sure that a reasonably careful parent of a deaf and dumb* child is going to have to be careful with respect of features that the parent of a child so unhampered would not have to be careful of.”

When a case went to the Supreme Court of Canada, that Court said, “The duty of care owed by the instructor, being that of a reasonably careful parent, had to be assessed in the light of the handicaps of the students; . . .’’

When a teacher agrees, either explicitly or by not protesting, to accept such students, that teacher is accepting responsibility for a higher standard of care than would be the case for an ordinary student. This higher standard will require that the supervisory care be more vigilant than it would be with an ordinary pupil, both with regard to avoiding circumstances that would give rise to the medical problem and to detecting the medical problem should such arise. This is true in the case of both physical and medical disabilities, for example, epilepsy and diabetes.

The law would not likely require that a teacher be involved in administering a course of treatment involving medication, but it may impose a duty of supervision on the teacher to ensure that a student takes pills or other treatment as required by the schedule. If teachers become involved in administering a therapeutic regime, an obligation is assumed that might well expose them to liability. Adequate protection for teachers who find themselves in this circumstance will vary from case to case. Teachers should contact the Association for assistance if they are directed to manage medication.

Attention is drawn again to section 3 of the Education Act, which casts a statutory duty upon the board to make attendance possible and appears to include a requirement for appropriate health services. It should be noted that this duty is cast upon the board and not upon its teachers. It is equally clear that teachers are not prepared through their teacher education to carry out medical duties nor are they employed to provide services such as lifting, toileting or feeding of physically handicapped students. Teachers’ obligation is restricted to providing adequate educational services for children.

*current terminology is deaf and hearing impaired

« Previous | Next »