BCEdAccess Survey: April 8, 2020
COVID-19 Inclusive Education Survey
On April 8th, 2020, BCEdAccess conducted an online Inclusive Education Survey to find out how the B.C. education system is responding to the pandemic. Their report shows that our educators have had some success in supporting families of students with disabilities and complex learners. It also shows that there are ongoing large gaps in meeting the needs of families equitably within this crisis learning environment.
The full report is available at BCEdAccess.
BCEdAccess asked several questions. Here are two examples:
Have you heard from anyone at the school or district about your child with disabilities since March 30th?
Schools and districts have reached many families since March 30th – nearly 87% of respondents had heard from someone by April 8th. Only 27.8% had heard from their child’s educational assistant, who is often the key connection they have at school and the one who spends the most time with them.
Has your child been offered Educational Assistant support?
BCEdAccess asked whether families felt their child needed the support of an educational assistant, and how and why. This generated many responses. The majority of respondents have not been offered this support. Families told then that educational assistants are needed by students for personal care, sign language, literacy and numeracy support, self-regulation, executive function support, and more. Families said that the need for that consistency of connection between children and youth and their educational assistants during this traumatic time is greater than ever.
See the Full Report: BCEdAccess COVID-19 Inclusive Education Survey