Some kids with disabilities will be excluded from school during strike, parents say

Update, April 19, 2023: A tentative agreement was reached with thousands of N.S. educational support workers this morning, staving off a strike. 

Some parents of children who rely on educational program assistants (EPAs) are scrambling to make plans as a possible strike by CUPE support workers looms.

Employees at schools across the province, including EPAs, early childhood educators, bus drivers, cleaners and maintenance staff could be on strike as of 12:01 a.m. Friday after contract negotiations reached an impasse last week.

Some families have been told their children will not be able to attend school because they won't have adequate support if a strike occurs.

EPAs help students with special needs with personal care, such as mobility, feeding and hygiene, as well as social and emotional growth and support during instruction.

Respite care costly

Sara Mullins says she received a call from her school principal on Monday afternoon informing her that her son Nash cannot attend classes at Millwood Elementary School in Lower Sackville, N.S., if there's a strike.

Nash, who is seven, has been diagnosed with autism and global learning delay, and has an educational program assistant.

Mullins would have to pay a respite worker to take care of Nash, she says, which would cost about $25 an hour for nine hours a day — a significant expense for a single mother of three.

"Financially, it's going to put things very limited," she says. "I can't just walk in to my employer and say, 'Oh hey, by the way, as of Friday I need to be off work.'"

Her son would also notice that he was being treated differently than his classmates, she says.

"Nash is very smart, like, he's going to know that his peers are still going to school. So it's going to be the question, 'Well, why can't I go?'" Mullin says. "How do you answer that? There is no answer."

CBC News requested information from the Halifax Regional Centre for Education about the options that would be provided to students who rely on EPAs.

Case-by-case decisions

In an email, a spokesperson for the centre said principals are "working closely with families on the details of each student's plan for continued learning."

"Of the more than 57,000 students in HRCE, about 2,500 are supported by EPAs and the level of these supports varies greatly," said Lindsay Bunin, a communications officer for the centre.

Bunin said in some cases, students have support from EPA at times during the school day in both the learning centre and regular classroom for social skills and skill building. Many of those students will be able to safely attend school, Bunin said.

In other cases where a student needs dedicated support for personal care, management of medical care, complex behaviour or their level of cognitive development significantly limits their ability to safely navigate their school environment, it might not be possible for that student to go to school safely.

"While our contingency planning prioritizes ensuring the greatest number of students can attend school safely, it will not be school as usual for some," said Bunin. 

"Principals will continue to work with families on a case-by-case basis and will provide reasonable opportunities for continued learning from home in the event of a strike if a student is not able to attend school safely."

Unfair treatment

Amanda Lawlor's two daughters rely on EPAs at Caledonia Junior High School in Dartmouth — one for academic support due to learning disabilities, and the other for mobility support due to cerebral palsy and blindness in one eye.

"For my daughter that needs the academic supports, she just wouldn't be getting those supports while there was a strike. So that's harmful. Depending on how long it lasts, it could be very detrimental to her," Lawlor told the CBC's Information Morning on Tuesday.

"For my daughter that needs the physical supports, it's very concerning. That's kind of scary to know that she wouldn't have that hands-on support."

Lawlor says she's not sure what her family will do if her daughters' EPAs go on strike, as she has not received much communication from the school.

But she says it would be unfair if her daughters are forced to stay home. 

"I'm not OK with them not attending school," she said. "My kids, and any other kid that has a learning disability or physical disability or needs any sort of EPA support, deserve an education just as much as any other child."

'They need to be respected'

Union president Nan McFadgen has said affected CUPE staff are looking for a wage that keeps up with rising inflation and can support employees as their sole income.

She says EPAs are the backbone of the province's inclusive education policy, which commits to ensuring that students with disabilities have access to education as a human right.

"If we were talking about students with physical disabilities, removing the EPAs is like saying, 'No, you can't come in with your wheelchair,' or 'let's just take your glasses off at the door,'" Carver says.

"They need to be respected. They need to be acknowledged. They need to be adequately compensated for the incredible, magnificent superstar work that they do every single day."

The executive director of Autism Nova Scotia, Cynthia Carroll, says students should not be excluded from school while their peers can attend.

"It is a human right to access education. When you can't access education, it is a violation of someone's human rights," she said.

"What message does that send to the young person who might have diverse learning needs, might be autistic, might have a disability — that they cannot access their education like their peers can access education? And so that is a huge concern for us."