On March 23, 2007, Finance Minister Michael Baker tabled the Conservative government's 2007/08 budget. In it, he announced a permanent third year for the tuition support program.

Here is the section regarding TSP from the speech:

“And, Mr. Speaker, completing our commitments to supporting families whose children have specific needs that cannot be met within the regular school system, the province is also allocating $350,000 to provide funding for a permanent third year of tuition support. This program enables these students to benefit from specialized expertise that is available at a designated private school for up to three years. Tuition support is one of our many Learning for Life initiatives that help students with
special needs.”

This announcement is somewhat deceiving to the general public. It makes it look as if the government has come up with new money to be able to add a third year of tuition support. It makes it look like they are heroes for looking after the needs of children with learning disabilities for another year.

For people who may not be as familiar with the realities of educating a child with learning disability, here's the truth.

Extending the Tuition Support Program for a third year costs the government $0. The $350,000 they mention is already accounted for in the operating budget of public schools. This is not new money. Tuition Support Program simply moves a standard funding unit from public school to a private school setting. No big sacrifice. In fact the Tuition Support Program actually saves the government money. For each student attending a designated special needs private school, the government saves an estimated $5000.00 per student because they are not drawing on special needs programs like teachers assistants, resource teachers, school psychologists, and program planning teams. In the 2006-07 school year this equated to $580,00.00 savings. Making it economically feasible for these students to attend a designated special needs school allows these over-subscribed programs to better meet the existing school population.

The actual fact is that the government only pays half the tuition at the private special education school. Parents have to come up with the other half. Why do the parents have to come up with anything?
Children with learning disabilities are entitled to a proper and free education, just like children without learning disabilities.

The government in this speech has finally admitted that public schools are not meeting the needs of our learning disabled children. Government therefore, should pay the full tuition for children to attend a special education school for as long as needed.

The Nova Scotia Education Act states:

“The education system should be committed to fair and equitable participation and benefit by all people in Nova Scotia.”


“The purpose of this Act is to provide for a publicly funded school system whose primary mandate is to provide education programs and services for students to enable them to develop their potential and acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to contribute to a healthy society and a prosperous and sustainable economy.”

Extending the Tuition Support Program from two years to three is inadequate. We don't remove a wheelchair ramp after three years of use. We don't remove a cast off a broken arm until it is mended.
Why do we stop supporting children with disabilities after three years? Has the government a study showing three years to be enough?

Many children are three to five years behind their peers in grade level because the public system failed to identify their learning disability early enough. They are in this situation because the special education supports and services in our public system is over-subscribed and under-funded.

Many families will have a very hard decision to make now that their tuition support has run out after three years. Do they try to come up with the full tuition for their child to attend a special education private school, a school where their child is showing improvement? Or do they send their child back to public school to potentially struggle and fail?

The Equal Education Association of Nova Scotia feels that children who need to attend a special education school should receive tuition support for as long as they need it. Not for as long as politicians and their bureaucrats see fit.

Brian Hickling
Vice Chair
EEANS