The number of students in difficulty continues to increase in Quebec schools. In secondary school, a third of young people now belong to this category in the public network, a much higher proportion than in the private sector.
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With the approach of the provincial budget which will be unveiled on Tuesday, actors in the education network hope that the resources will be sufficient to meet their growing needs.
According to the most recent figures from the Ministry of Education, 33% of secondary school students are considered “disabled or have social maladjustments or learning difficulties”, in the Ministry’s jargon. They have an intervention plan that provides additional services or measures to help them succeed.
This proportion has been constantly rising for twenty years in the school system, both at the elementary and secondary levels. Overall, nearly one in four students (24%) is in difficulty in the Quebec public school network.
Gap with private
However, this proportion is much lower in private schools: there are 17% in total and 19% in secondary school.
However, the Ministry of Education warns against comparisons between the two networks since the declaration of students in difficulty is made on a voluntary basis in the private sector and compulsory in the public sector.
To achieve a better balance, we must nevertheless force private schools to accommodate more students in difficulty, says Égide Royer, an expert in academic success who has been interested in these figures for years.
“Private schools must also accommodate a natural proportion of students in difficulty, otherwise their funding must be changed,” he says.
The latter also pleads for a revision of the special education policy, drafted nearly 25 years ago. The school network would particularly benefit from giving itself better guidelines surrounding the intervention plans, he adds.
Variable geometry
At the Federation of Parents’ Committees, we deplore the fact that recourse to an intervention plan often varies from one environment to another. “We get the impression that some schools don’t want to make an intervention plan because they don’t have the resources to meet their needs,” says its president, Kévin Roy.
Conversely, school principals have already explained to the Journal that the high proportion of students in difficulty in their establishment could be explained by a very “proactive” approach where we did not hesitate to put plans intervention in place for students even if their difficulties were more personal than academic.
The use of variable geometry in intervention plans in schools could also explain the significant differences between school service centers, where the proportion of students in difficulty varies from 15% to 33%.
At the Hautes-Laurentides service center, where nearly 31% of students have an intervention plan, it is noted that almost all of the schools are located in disadvantaged areas. Autism diagnoses have also been on the rise in recent years.
Its director general, Julie Bellavance, also indicates that several students have learning disabilities in reading and writing, which leads “in several cases” to the allocation of learning assistance software provided for in a plan. intervention.
Despite this high proportion, the success rate in French for Secondary V students in the Hautes-Laurentides is among the highest in the province, she says.
Upcoming budget
As the provincial budget to be unveiled on Tuesday approaches, unions representing school staff are calling for an increase in education funding to meet the needs of students in difficulty.
At the start of the week, the Federation of Education Professionals of Quebec mentioned that its members are seeing on the ground “an unprecedented increase” in problems of anxiety, psychological distress and episodes of violence in a context after -pandemic.
Its president, Jacques Landry, recalled that improving services for students in difficulty is not one of the seven priorities presented by the Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville, at the end of January. He hopes that the next budget will allow him to “correct the situation”.
At the Federation of School Support Staff, we are also concerned about the constant increase in students with difficulties. “The next education budget must take this into account so that the needs (of) students are met,” says its president, Éric Pronovost.
Students with disabilities or social maladjustments or learning difficulties
- Public network
- Preschool: 5%
- Primary: 21%
- Secondary: 33%
- Overall: 24%
- Private network
- Preschool: 2%
- Primary: 12%
- Secondary: 19%
Overall: 17%
Note: The Ministère de l’Éducation warns against making comparisons between the two networks since the declaration of students in difficulty is made on a voluntary basis in the private sector and compulsory in the public sector.
The service centers where the proportion of students in difficulty is the highest:
- Hauts-Bois-de-l’Outaouais: 32.5%
- Eastern Townships: 31.8%
- Chics-Chocs (Gaspésie): 31.3%
- Upper Laurentians: 30.9%
- Des Chênes (Centre-du-Québec): 30.9%
Note: These data exclude the three school boards and special status service centres.
Source: Ministry of Education (provisional data for the 2022-2023 school year)