Phase I

 Message from the Minister   

Our students are the future of a vibrant and prosperous Alberta in the 21st
century. If Alberta is to fulfill its potential as a province, we must ensure each young person reaches his or her potential.

We must equip all of our students with the skills, attributes and knowledge needed to explore the wide variety of opportunities available when they complete high school. Meeting that objective begins with accepting that not all young people begin their education with the same physical, intellectual, social, health and other assets. Our education system must be responsive to young Albertans’ individual needs and flexible enough to meet them.

Alberta schools currently identify some 67,000 students with special education needs. These students’ characteristics — physical, developmental or learning disabilities, the gifted and talented — require their schools to tailor their programming. While every student is unique and will need some individualized attention, Alberta recognizes that many students will need additional support services and intervention in order to succeed.

As the population of students with special education needs changes, we are challenged to respond to the requirements of students, families, schools and school authorities. These stakeholders have told us that we need to look comprehensively at special education in Alberta schools to ensure that each student reaches his or her potential.

Such a comprehensive examination of special education necessitates answering questions about how we educate students with special education needs:

These questions help us see what we can do better by looking at special education in new ways and re-evaluating our current approach to special education policy, accountability and funding.

Setting the Direction for Special Education in Alberta is a major project to create a new framework that will ensure students with special education needs get the supports they need to be successful. The project is comprehensive and far-reaching, and will consider the needs of students in all types of schools: public, separate, francophone, charter and private. We are looking at other provinces and countries to find out what is working for them in special education. We are talking to teachers, administrators, parents and guardians, service providers, and students themselves to find out what they need.

Most important of all, we need to know what you think.

Dave Hancock, QC
Minister, Alberta Education