The Atlantic Institute for Market Studies (AIMS) is proud to release Extending the educational lifeline: The benefits of adopting Nova Scotia’s Tuition Support Program (TSP), authored by Dr. Paul Bennett, Director of Schoolhouse Consulting.
The study is the third special education-related paper released by Dr. Bennett for AIMS, and follows up on his February 2012 paper, A provincial lifeline: Expanding the Nova Scotia Tuition Support Program. The current paper is being directed at New Brunswick, a jurisdiction that does not have a Tuition Support Program in place. In June 2012, Dr. Bennett released a paper entitled, Building a Bigger Tent: Serving all special needs students better in New Brunswick’s inclusive education system,
While Bennett’s paper demonstrates the gap that exists in New Brunswick’s Special Education safety net, he concludes a sustained TSP would help offset the social and economic costs and burdens on those communities in need.
“Specialized learning disabilities schools like Moncton’s Riverbend Community School deserve that opportunity to be recognized, and extending similar tuition support would certainly help broaden accessibility in New Brunswick, a province where an estimated 1,000 children suffer from these challenges,” says Bennett.
“It not only helps to reduce potential long-term social and economic costs, and in Nova Scotia the TSP is already helping to produce happier families and more productive young citizens.”
AIMS president and CEO, Marco Navarro-Genie, is hailing the study as a “balanced, informative and thought-provoking” examination of a policy that helps drive community connectivity and education, which helps families in need and may save money.
“I believe it would serve New Brunswick well to look closely at this study and learn from the positive experience in Nova Scotia,” adds Navarro-Genie.
The Nova Scotia Tuition Support Program (TSP), established in September 2004, provides a vitally important educational lifeline for severely learning-challenged children who cannot be served at their local public school.
Originally intended for short-term purposes and aimed at successfully “transitioning” students back into the regular system, it is now recognized as an essential component of the full continuum of provincial special education support services. The TSP funding, totaling $2.5 million a year, broadens accessibility by covering most of the tuition costs for some 225 students to attend three approved designated special education private schools (DSEPS) in Nova Scotia.
Click here to read the paper at AIMS.ca.
For more information, or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Dr. Paul Bennett Director,
Schoolhouse Consulting
(902) 233-2414
References:
A Provincial Lifeline: Expanding the Nova Scotia Tuition Support Program. Halifax: Atlantic Institute for Market Studies, February 2012.
Building a Bigger Tent: Serving all special needs students better in New Brunswick’s inclusive education system Halifax: Atlantic Institute for Market Studies, June 2012.
Reclaiming At-Risk Children and Youth: A Review of Nova Scotia’s SchoolsPlus (ISD) Initiative. Halifax: Atlantic Institute for Market Studies, June 2013.