OCSTA Welcomes Provincial Government's Strong Commitment to Education
TORONTO, March 26, 2018 /CNW/ - The Ontario Catholic School Trustees' Association welcomes the provincial government's release today of the 2017-18 Grants for Student Needs (GSN).
"Today's government announcement demonstrates a commitment to increasing resources to better address special education needs of students at boards across this province," said OCSTA President Patrick Daly. "In OCSTA's Pre-Budget Consultation Brief we urged the government to provide boards with additional resources in support of a number of school board priorities including mental health, special education, and student transportation. We will continue to strongly advocate for the need for increased flexibility and autonomy at the local level."
OCSTA has strongly advocated for the need for added resources that can effectively address the rising educational, psychological and support needs of exceptional students in Ontario's schools. OCSTA welcomes the overall new investment of $625 million that will add:
- $300 million over 3 years for special education programming and services
- $140 million over the next 3 years to support successful academic transitions for grade 7 and 8 students
- $35 million for student transportation
- $10 million for language/ESL
The Association will continue to review the details of today's GSN announcements and monitor for increased flexibility and effective implementation at the local level.
OCSTA is committed to working with the Ontario government and our provincial education partners to address the issues and opportunities in our education system for the benefit of every student in Ontario.
The Ontario Catholic School Trustees' Association (OCSTA) is the provincial voice for publicly funded Catholic education in the province. OCSTA represents Catholic school boards that collectively educate approximately 550,000 students in Ontario, from Kindergarten to Grade 12.
SOURCE Ontario Catholic School Trustees' Association
Sharon McMillan, Director of Communications, Tel: 416-932-9460, ext. 232 - [email protected]
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