Thank you, Mr. Chair and subcommittee members, for your invitation to contribute to your vital work on human rights.
Canada has obligations for inclusive education under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Canada must uphold the rights of children with disabilities at the national level and through international co‑operation.
By “children with disabilities,” I mean children who have physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments, as defined in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In the internal school context, for example in Ontario, this means students with behavioural, communication, intellectual, physical or multiple exceptionalities. This creates a heterogeneous group, which presents a major challenge for inclusive education.
At the international level, inclusive education has been promoted for about thirty years. In Canada, the provinces have also shifted the focus towards education in the regular school environment. However, one ongoing issue is the lack of a definition of inclusive education. In addition, for children with disabilities, the focus is often on integration into the regular classroom rather than on inclusion.
The inclusive education philosophy focuses on education in a school system where all children can learn together, where children feel included and where the needs of all children are taken into account to enable them to participate in society. This is about more than disability. Inclusive education targets all minority communities and groups that have traditionally been segregated or overlooked in schools, such as language, religious and racial minority groups; newcomers; and so on.
Integration isn't necessarily part of this philosophy. The emphasis is solely on the child's placement. The model involves the student in the regular classroom adapting to the school, rather than the other way around. The idea is to help the student adapt through reasonable accommodation.
Even though inclusive education is the ideal, in practice, many families prefer to keep their children in separate classrooms so that they can receive the appropriate services. This often applies to children with severe learning disabilities. Parents want to ensure optimal learning conditions for their children so that they can reach their full potential. Other families prefer integration, even when the inclusive model isn't strictly implemented. They consider social participation more important than educational achievement. This often applies to children with intellectual disabilities.
In terms of inclusive education, it's important to remember the heterogeneous nature of disability and the wide variety of needs, not only among children, but also across the types of impairment. The educational needs of children and the expectations of families are different. It depends on whether the child has a physical or intellectual disability, a learning disability such as dyslexia, or deafness, for example. It should be noted that representatives of the deaf community have ensured that the convention doesn't prohibit separate education for sign language users.
Education for children with disabilities is a matter of applying the principle of the child's best interests. There's now some consensus, including among Canadian courts, that inclusion is a benchmark, but not an absolute standard, and that each case should be considered on an individual basis.
Of course, resources are a major issue. Given the lack of staff, equipment and services in regular schools and classrooms, it's easy to say that segregated education serves the child's best interests. If the resources were available to meet the educational needs of all children, it would become clear that inclusion in the regular classroom serves the child's best interests.
In closing, in keeping with our international obligations, it's important to invest in education. Inclusive education can help meet a number of educational objectives, such as the development of a spirit of understanding, equality and tolerance; participation in society; and so on.
However, with a rights‑based approach, it's important to avoid standardized approaches. Every child is a subject of the law. They each have their own unique identity, needs and interests.
Thank you.