Manitoba invests in supports for special needs students

Special needs students will be seeing new supports as the Manitoba government announced a $7 million investment into the education system.

The investment will ensure continued learning throughout the pandemic, as well as an increase in all school divisions’ Special Needs Level 2 and Level 3 funding.

“We know there have been impacts on learning during the pandemic and this funding reflects the high priority the provincial government places on special needs education for Manitobans,” said Wayne Ewasko, Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister in a statement. “This increase for the upcoming school year will support students with special needs to provide student-specific supports determined by school teams, such as increased access to behaviour specialist supports, specialized programming or educational assistants.”

The province also stated the upcoming intake of the Teachers’ Idea Fund will see new mental health and well-being projects for students and teachers.

Programs will include:

• talking about mental health;
• training for teachers;
• incorporating mental health into teaching;
• providing appropriate tools and supports for students; and
• taking care of teachers and school staff.

“The Student Services Administrators’ Association of Manitoba is committed to providing provincial leadership and informed advocacy to support appropriate educational programming for all students,” said Kendra Gowler, president of the Student Services Administrators’ Association of Manitoba. “Today’s announcement is important, as it is about investing in education so all children have an opportunity to access appropriate educational programming.”