Keeping B.C. schools open amid COVID-19 crucial for kids with special needs: advocate

An advocate for children with special needs is hoping schools are discussing how to prevent COVID-19-related staff shortages, so schools can stay open for the kids who need in-person classes the most.

On Tuesday, kids of essential workers and those with special needs returned to the classroom as initially planned. However, most of their classmates will return on Jan. 10. The move to a “phased” return to class was announced amid a surge in cases across the province.

This phased return to school was made so school staff time has enough time to develop additional protocols, including plans to reduce crowding during certain parts of the school day.

With a week to prepare, Tracy Humphreys, the executive director of BCEdAccess, says she is hoping schools are creating a contingency plan to prevent schools from shutting down entirely.

“They need to start that planning with their students who have significant needs, disabilities, complex learning needs … You need to take that student population and think about what’s going to work best for them, because it will also work for other students who are able to come to school. But if you plan it for a typical student, then in a lot of cases it’s not going to work for those other kids. And so they’re going to end up excluded, and they’re going to end up at home where perhaps, it’s not really safe and secure for them as it needs to be.”

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Humphreys emphasizes the pandemic has had distinct impacts on those with disabilities.

“There are children who have varying levels of need, and also varying levels of risk when it comes to COVID-19, so the reactions have been similarly mixed. But there’s mostly been an anxiety about mixed messaging and non-safety measures.”

On Tuesday, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said it’s time for businesses to come up with contingency plans because of expected staffing shortages. And she said health care and education are likely to be impacted.

Henry also said B.C. is entering a different COVID-19 storm due to the highly transmissible Omicron variant, which now accounts for about 80 per cent of new COVID-19 cases in the province.

While it might be necessary, Humphreys adds she is worried about schools shutting down because “you can’t control how many people get sick.”

And she warns depending on the district and city, some schools will have more challenges than others.

“In Surrey, for example, a very big school district, they could have a lot of staff missing, but it might be at a specific school, right. And that’s where … they may end up having to move these cohorts of kids to different spaces, and they need to be planning for some kind of hybrid or online learning, because I think that they will end up in a situation where there will be … schools that just can’t open, and students need some kind of continuity of learning.”

We hope this is a part of the #bced discussions and planning this week. How will schools support disabled students who cannot attend in person because of their health, or because familiar staff are sick, or staff shortages mean the school environment is significantly changed? https://t.co/YdoFbdiJGD

— BCEdAccess (@BCEdAccess) January 4, 2022

Dr. Bonnie Henry said Tuesday that administrators, staff, teachers, parents and kids will need to be flexible as schools make plans to safely operate over for the next few weeks with reduced staff.

“It’s essential that we keep our schools open for children. Just as we’ve kept grocery stores and pharmacies and hospitals open … If your children are higher risk, it may mean things like pausing extracurricular activities, the focus on school and the importance of school,” Henry said.

"Everybody in school should be vaccinated" DBH says adding that schools are not a source of transmissions.
Earlier she said for kids who are more at risk – or families are – it may be time to pause extra curricular activities for now.#bcpoli @CityNewsVAN #covid19

— LizaYuzda (@LizaYuzda) January 4, 2022

However, it’s not a realistic expectation for all students to be flexible during these times, Humphreys says.

“Students with disabilities and students with different complex needs, they have varying abilities to be flexible. It’s going to be a really challenging time. It’s already a really challenging time. It’s been hard for families who do need their kids to have access to school in this week, to figure out what that’s going to look like … it might not be their education assistant that’s working with them. It might not be their familiar teacher; they might be grouped in a classroom with students they don’t know. They might even be in a different school building, because they’re kind of collecting kids together. That can be really hard for some disabled students who struggle with transitions and they struggle with change.

“I think that we all do need to try to be flexible, but I also think that we need to put disabled people, children, youth and adults, at the forefront of our planning, so that we’re aware there are some people who can’t necessarily be as flexible and we need to plan around them for safety and to make share that environments are as comfortable for them as they can be.”

Students living in challenging home situations, with families who are low income or are a part of racialized communities have been education has been disproportionately impacted and Humphreys say they also “really need school,” Humphreys says.

She explains in-person schooling offers connection, safety, food security, and respite for families, and kids mental health.

Henry added keeping schools open is a priority for the province and emphasizes that they are not a major source of transmission.

“We’re committed to making sure that we’re getting children back as soon as possible and doing our best for children across the province,” she said.