Celeste Percy-Beauregard, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Hamilton Spectator

A student elopes from school. A meltdown grows violent. Toileting has become completely out of control.

These are the type of incidents that could cause a kid to be excluded from school while a safety plan is put into place, Kate Dudley-Logue told The Spectator.

As operations vice-president of the Ontario Autism Coalition (OAC), Dudley-Logue is familiar with exclusions, as she says it’s “safe to say” a “large” portion of them involve kids on the autism spectrum.

Unlike an expulsion or suspension, it happens when a student is “removed from their learning environment” typically due to behavioural or safety concerns, or “a lack of appropriate resources to ensure a student’s safety,” according to the OAC’s report on special education for 2023-24.

After learning Grand Erie District School Board had some of the highest exclusion rates reported to the Ministry of Education over three of the last four school years, The Spectator requested the data via a freedom-of-information (FOI) request.

The ministry’s data showed:

Fewer than 70 GEDSB students were excluded from classes for 5,114 days over the past four school years due to behavioural or mental-health concerns. Most were receiving special education supports.

• GEDSB reported the highest number of days excluded in 2020-21 (1,790). The next highest was Dufferin-Peel Catholic DSB with 675. Toronto District School Board, the largest board in Ontario, reported 33.
• GEDSB reported the second-highest days excluded for 2021-22 (1,653) and 2022-23 (1,671). Greater Essex County DSB had the most for both of those years.
• GEDSB reported zero exclusions for 2023-24.

Data for Toronto public, as well as both Hamilton boards, was not available for 2023-24. The zeroes reported by the Brant-area boards were confirmed as correct. Source: Ministry of Education The Hamilton Spectator

The Spectator sought to understand what Grand Erie’s high number of exclusion days meant — and how the board reported zero this past year after previously ranking among the highest in the province.

Was it because the students who were having exclusions graduated or moved on? Has the board changed its approach? Has it switched to modified days? 

The board declined to answer these specific questions.

Instead, a GEDSB spokesperson provided a general statement on exclusions:

“We recognize that each student’s circumstances are unique. In every situation, we follow provincial guidelines and apply our exclusion policy and procedure to support student well-being and success. Decisions regarding exclusions are made thoughtfully and contextually, always with the goal of ensuring safety while promoting inclusion and continued learning.”

Without details from the board, it’s unclear what’s behind the sharp drop — or if the zero figure truly reflects reality on the ground.

Zero? ‘There’s just no way’

The Ministry of Education data likely captures only what Dudley-Logue calls “hard exclusions” — formal removals from school that involve paperwork and require parents to sign off. These happen when a student is kept home until a plan is in place to keep everyone safe, such as assigning a dedicated educational assistant or moving the student to a different classroom.

But these aren’t the only kinds of exclusions happening, she said.

Dudley-Logue said “soft exclusions” — like repeatedly being sent home early or placed on reduced daily schedules — are widespread and often go unrecorded.

In some cases, she said, a parent might get a call to pick up their child who’s dysregulated or “having a hard day” — a pattern that can happen multiple times a week, “if not daily” for some families. Eventually, some schools may suggest a modified schedule — for example, attending only two hours a day — which Dudley-Logue said “is really also an exclusion,” but may not get formally reported.

While she acknowledged there are students with “very complex needs” who may benefit from shortened days, she emphasized “the vast majority” could succeed with proper supports in place, such as a one-on-one educational assistant.

The ministry told The Spectator school boards are required to report “all student exclusions,” and said it provides a “standard reporting template and additional instructions” to ensure consistent and accurate tracking. It also follows up with boards that haven’t submitted data or where there appear to be discrepancies.

Still, Dudley-Logue questioned the completeness of the data — especially for boards that reported zero.

“If it was a really small school board, like a very rural school board,” she said, it’s possible they didn’t need to exclude any students. “Often those school boards don’t have as many children with disabilities or complex needs, so they may have the ability to support their students a little bit better.”

But for urban boards with higher populations of students with complex needs, she said, “there’s just no way” there were no exclusions all year.

In fact, she suggested Grand Erie’s previously high exclusion totals may indicate the opposite of a problem — that the board was actually tracking and reporting carefully.

“It could be the board is doing what they’re supposed to be doing — and monitoring and collecting data — and the other schools just simply aren’t.”

When asked, the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board said it had no exclusions during the years in question — but does use modified days.

A ‘perfect storm’ in the classroom

Student needs have escalated sharply over the past five years, while staffing levels have dropped — creating “a perfect storm in the classroom,” Dudley-Logue said.

Many boards are moving to a “full inclusion” model.

The smaller, congregated special-education classrooms “that would provide a quieter, more supported environment for students with complex needs” are becoming a thing of the past, Dudley-Logue said.

“And the more they do that, the more exclusions we’re going to see, because … that extra support is not there in the mainstream classrooms,” she said.

Plus, kids are facing longer waits for diagnosis post-COVID and could wait “years” for government funding for therapy, she said.

It translates to delays related to speech, self-regulation, life skills “and all of the things that would really help them have better days at school and cope better while they’re there,” she said.

Still, Dudley-Logue is clear: the issue isn’t with individual schools or staff.

“They can’t help it. They have to keep everybody safe,” she said. “They’re not being provided the proper funding or resources to ensure all of the children’s safety, both mentally and physically.”

Celeste Percy-Beauregard’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. The funding allows her to report on stories about Brant County. Reach her at cpercybeauregard@torstar.ca.

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