In Quebec, the Education Act guarantees each student the right to free educational and student services. In his 60-page investigative report in June 2022: “Students above all”, the ombudsman, Marc-André Dowd, wrote that Quebec is failing students with special needs. His report on the services offered to elementary school students with learning difficulties or social maladjustments is indeed disconcerting. There is a shortage of services and manpower.
He points out that due to limited financial resources, services are offered on the basis of what is possible rather than what is necessary. Parents face an obstacle course in obtaining services for their children, resulting in several months of waiting, only to receive a few hours of service here and there.
On March 21, Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard will table the provincial budget. In my opinion, the Minister should take into account the advice of the ombudsman by funding our schools sufficiently to help students in difficulty to advance in the system, rather than by “hindering their academic path and their personal and social development. »
To see in video