Ken Weber

The parents of a child with a learning disability sought leave to appeal the child's identification and placement to a Special Education (Regional) Tribunal.

The parents raised concerns regarding procedural variations, financial motivations, communication breakdown, and the adequacy of the child's current placement.

The Ontario Special Education Tribunal denied leave to appeal, finding that the child's current placement was in their best interests and that there was no evidence that would cause a further tribunal to change the placement.

The appellant appealed a decision of the Identification, Placement and Review Committee and the Special Education Appeal Board, which found that her child was not an 'exceptional pupil' requiring special education placement for a learning disability.

The appellant presented various medical and psychological reports suggesting the child suffered from conditions such as minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and temporal lobe epilepsy.

The respondent school board presented evidence from the child's teachers and a senior psychologist indicating the child was progressing normally and did not require special education.

The Tribunal dismissed the appeal, finding the appellant's expert evidence confusing, contradictory, and unsubstantiated by clinical observation, and concluded there was no valid evidence to define the child as an exceptional pupil.