How can a parent access this committee to assist with advocacy?

By, Lindsay Moir

The Special Education Advisory Committee(SEAC) is a mandatory, standing committee of every school board in Ontario.

This committee is made up of representatives of provincially chartered parent's organizations which represent exceptional students (for example, Community Living, Learning Disabilities Associations, Easter Seals) and local members at large who represent stakeholders in special education (for example, Children's Treatment Centres).

The purpose of this committee is to provide the trustees with advice on all matters to do with special education in the board. Some SEACs are incredibly effective, sending draft policies to the trustees dealing with matters like "Standard Intake for special needs children" entering the system, "managing CAS students in Transition" or carefully scrutinizing the Special Education budget.

Others unfortunately are kept "busy" with presentations and information exchange that could be easily done in another format and do not actually give any advice at all. The effectiveness of the SEAC varies greatly from board to board. Find out how yours operates. Well-trained SEACs can, and do have positive impact on the programs and services for exceptional kids. Although SEACs do not exist to deal with individual cases, but rather with broader issues in Special Education, the SEAC member who represents your child's exceptionality is a valuable resource to parents. He or she understands your child's exceptionality and they know the staff, schools and decision-making processes within the board. Never under-estimate the importance of taking your issues to "the right person".... and your SEAC representative can help you to find that person.

The SEAC representative is usually aware of the success stories in the board; the school that is successfully educating a student like yours. If they can do it, why not in your school?

Quite often finding "successes" is the key piece in convincing a school that this is "do-able" and that there are peer resources for your child's teacher. Most teachers do want to help your child, if you can link them up with peers who can support them they are usually willing to try.

The SEAC representative has the big picture of what is happening across the board.

SEAC representatives make good mediators and facilitators. Although this is not a mandated part of the role, as a parent with a "foot in both camps" they have a unique credibility with educators and parents. To maintain this credibility, they need to be careful to be the "problem solver" not the "advocate" in this role.

Sometimes your issue has a broader issue embedded in it.

Individual parents who bring individual issues to the SEAC representative are often the catalyst in SEACs identifying issues that require policy change or board wide responses. By making your SEAC representative aware of individual issues (and successes) you help them to be effective.

SEACs are appointed for the "life of the board"-- when the trustees are elected, a new SEAC is formed, for the three year term of the board.

Parent Associations are asked to nominate a representative and an alternate for SEAC. Each board also appoints trustees to SEAC. Their primary role is to take "advice" back to the board meetings where the entire board of trustees act upon it.

To contact the DSAYR SEAC representative for the York Region District Public School Board or for the York Region District Catholic School board please email info@dsayr.on.ca, 

Reprinted with permission from Family Net, www.familynet.on.ca.