Tribunal orders semi-integrated placement for student with multiple exceptionalities, balancing regular class inclusion with specialized academic instruction.
The parents of an eleven-year-old student with multiple exceptionalities appealed a school board decision placing the student in a segregated special needs school.
The parents sought full-time placement in a regular class with a total communication package and a one-to-one educational assistant.
The Tribunal found that the student's needs were not being met in the fully integrated primary grade placements due to academic frustration and escalating behaviours, but also found that a fully segregated placement was not required.
The Tribunal ordered a semi-integrated placement, directing that the student be placed in a Grade 7 regular class for non-academic subjects and a Dual Diagnosis class for academic instruction, supported by a comprehensive behaviour management plan.
G. B. and M. S. v. Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, 2003 ONSET 1
