Special Education Funding Model: Developing a Needs-Based Option Presentation for the COO Special Education Information Sharing Forum January 29-30, 2019
Background: MNCFN v. Canada
MNCFN v. Canada cont. • Budget 2016, current status, next steps
Garrow Report & COO Position Paper • Recommended a new funding model that is needs-based, bottom-up, uncapped, flexible, transparent, stable, predictable, holistic and indexed (recommendation 5). • Recommended considering a hybrid model with a formula- based amount and application-based amount (recommendation 6). • Resolution 38/17, All Ontario Chiefs Conference, June 2017: fully support the recommendations. Peter Garrow, Ontario First Nations Special Education Review Report, May 2017: http://www.firstnationsspecialeducation.ca/Report.pdf
Current Federal Funding Model • Federal Government sets the funding amount nationally (capped, arbitrary, not needs based) 1 • Funding pot is divided between the provinces 2 • Ontario funding pot is divided between First Nations (but pot is too small, not needs-based) 3
Funding Model Options Analysis • Formula-based amount • Formula-based (less paperwork, faster to get money out, more predictable, fairer, etc.) • Inputs: (1) number of students, (2) location (north vs. south), (3) access (e.g. road vs. air), (4) travel time/cost (distance by road, flight cost). • Outputs: A table estimating the required staff & services and adding up the costs for those services. • For all special education (high and low cost) except kids requiring a full time staff person (dealt with in the additional amount column) • Application-based amount • Application-based (b/c formulas can’t capture all needs and costs) • For students requiring a full-time staff person & any other needs not met by the formula • Updated yearly
Baseline Amount – Ex. of Formula Output • Example of • Formula would
Baseline Amount – Key Benefits of Table • Needs-based: Tied to staff/services and realistic costs • Uncapped: Will increase if needs or costs increase • Bottom-up: Adds up costs (vs. dividing up fixed pot) • Transparent: Can see how funding amount determined • Adjustable: Can adjust services & costs annually • Rational & justifiable: Because transparently tied to staff/services • Addresses fly-in costs: Fly-in costs directly worked in (e.g. travel costs, fees for travel time, remoteness pay, housing costs, etc) • Funding adequacy: Can review model to determine adequacy • Sound methodology: Doesn’t depend on unreliable statistics or assumptions • Focus on needs: Debate and negotiation of model focuses on needs, services, and costs
Application-based amount – key aspects • Provide multi-year funding (e.g. for costs expected to last year-after-year or for the duration of a child’s experience) to reduce administrative burden and increase stability; • Provide guaranteed amounts for certain resources (e.g. provincial salary levels for EAs); • Allow for mid-year funding requests for students arriving mid-year; and • Be drawn from an uncapped funding pot to ensure needs are met and to provide greater predictability.
Assessment & Review Process • First Nations-led • To be completed within the first three years • Expand knowledge of student needs at the school level • Propose method for ongoing school-based assessments • Propose method to add school-level needs to the formula • Develop targets for student achievement to monitor progress toward educational equity
Recap of Key Model Components Funding Model Components Funding Application-Based Amount Formula-Based Amount Improvements over Time and Annual Assessment & Updates Review Process
Input Needed • Input required from educators and administrators • Estimate staffing/services needs for school with 100 students • E.g. How many special education resource teachers, EAs, etc. • Comments on the draft model • Info re costs • This information goes into a spreadsheet that becomes the funding formula
Staff & Services Per 100 Elementary Students In-School Staff Special Education Resource Teachers 2 staff persons (FTE) Student Support Workers (E.g. Educational Assistants, Counsellors, Land 13.25 staff persons Based Workers, Elders, Behavioural Support, Family Support Workers, Mental (FTE) Health Workers, Social Workers, Paraprofessionals, etc.) Specialist services Psychologist Assessments 12 assessments / yr Speech-Language Therapy 12 hrs/wk Occupational Therapy 9.5 hrs/wk Physiotherapy 5 hrs/wk Behavioural Therapy and Autism Support 12 hrs/wk Other Therapy and Specialist Services (e.g. Art & Play, Music, etc.) 15 hrs/wk
Staff & Services Per 100 Secondary Students In-School Staff Special Education Resource Teachers 1.3 staff persons (FTE) Student Support Workers (E.g. Educational Assistants, Counsellors, Land 8.75 staff persons Based Workers, Elders, Behavioural Support, Family Support Workers, Mental (FTE) Health Workers, Social Workers, Paraprofessionals, etc.) Specialist services Psychologist Assessments 15 assessments / yr Speech-Language Therapy 5 hrs/wk Occupational Therapy 5 hrs/wk Physiotherapy 5 hrs/wk Behavioural Therapy and Autism Support 16 hrs/wk Other Therapy and Specialist Services (e.g. Art & Play, Music, etc.) 10 hrs/wk
Staff & Services – Minimum Baseline In-School Staff Special Education Resource Teachers 0.5 staff persons (FTE) Student Support Workers (E.g. Educational Assistants, Counsellors, Land 1 staff person (FTE) Based Workers, Elders, Behavioural Support, Family Support Workers, Mental Health Workers, Social Workers, Paraprofessionals, etc.) Specialist services Psychologist Assessments 2 assessments / yr Speech-Language Therapy 4 hrs/wk Occupational Therapy 4 hrs/wk Physiotherapy 2 hrs/wk Behavioural Therapy and Autism Support 2 hrs/wk Other Therapy and Specialist Services (e.g. Art & Play, Music, etc.) 4 hrs/wk
Other Spec. ed. professional Funding for 1 out of every 4 teachers to take a course re spec. ed accreditation Spec. ed. professional Funding for 1 out of every 2 educators (including EAs, etc.) to development attend a sped. ed. conference Program development & management 7 hrs/wk per 100 students Admin support 2 hrs/wk per 100 students Spec. Ed. Equipment & Information Technology $150 / student, minimum of $3,000 IT Consulting & support 3-5 hrs/wk Summer Intensive Program Funding for 20% of students to participate for 6 weeks at $750 per week per participant
End
Appendix re Cost Data Costs Table [PRELIMINARY DRAFT] Draft Needs-Based Funding Formula Description: This table describes the cost of the items in the Required Special Education Services and Resources table. The costs are based on provincial school salary levels and a review of actual rates from specialist contractors, plus remoteness pay where applicable. The costs depend on whether the school is southern, northern, or non-year-round road access. The formula inputs are in the cells shaded yellow below. Travel costs are in a separate table below. Cost Categories (Non-Travel) Information Source Southern Northern Non-Road Access In-School Staff Resource Teachers Salary per Provincial Rates $78,408 $78,408 $78,408 Per salary grid mid-point and benefits rate for Benefits $9,409 $9,409 $9,409 Keewatin Patricia District School Board (KPDSB) Remoteness Incentive $10,438 $39,008 Per federal Isolated Posts Directive Total Cost Per Staff Person $87,816 $98,254 $126,824 ($/FTE) Student Support Workers (E.g. Educational Assistants, Counsellors, Land Based Workers, Elders, Behavioural Support, Family Support Workers, Mental Health Workers, Social Workers, Paraprofessionals, etc.) Salary per Provincial Rates $51,957 $51,957 $51,957 Per KPDSB salary grid and OPSEU collective agreement with Ontario Benefits $16,107 $16,107 $16,107 Per KPDSB benefits rate Remoteness Incentive $10,438 $39,008 Per federal Isolated Posts Directive Total Cost Per Staff Person $68,063 $78,501 $107,071 ($/FTE) Specialist services Psychologist Assessments Base Cost Per Assessment $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 Per figures and estimates provided by service Remoteness Incentive $150 $300 providers. See cost source Total Cost Per Assessment $1,500 $1,650 $1,800 information table for Speech-Language Therapy details. Hourly Rate $155 $155 $155 Remoteness Incentive $16 $31
Recommend
More recommend
