Thousands of Quebec children with disabilities remain out of school due to lack of resources
While children in Quebec return to school after the holidays, nine-year-old Ellie is not among them.
“I was very angry at my parents,” she said. “Because I want to go to school.”
CBC News is hiding Ellie’s last name to reduce online harm and bullying. She normally attends St. Lawrence School on Montreal’s South Shore, but this year, the school has not been able to provide her with the support she needs and she has been living at home since November.
Ellie is autistic and has dyslexia. his sThe school was providing extra support, such as staff who helped her take breaks when she needed them, soothe her stress and help her with her reading skills. But this year, that support She was no longer the same, and her mother says this had a significant impact on her daughter.
Celine Harding-Jones described her daughter’s “meltdown”, saying, “It was incredibly upsetting for Ellie, for her classmates and school staff, and certainly for us as her family,” which were “incredibly out of control” without additional support.
Nine-year-old Ellie has not been able to return to classes at her school on Montreal’s South Shore. After being diagnosed with autism and dyslexia, the school provided extra support. But it wasn’t able to provide that much extra support this year — parents of children with disabilities in Quebec are facing even more problems.
That’s why Harding-Jones said her family and school have decided to take a leave of absence from the classroom.
The school now provides a tutor three times a week for two hours a day.
Harding-Jones has taken off work to help her daughter get back to school.
“That’s why I’m speaking out because I’m sure there are other children and other families out there who are struggling immensely,” she said.
$570M expense reduction
Harding-Jones isn’t alone in feeling this Effect.
Two weeks before the end of the last school year, at a time when school boards and school service centers are typically finalizing their budgets, administrators were told by the Ministry of Education to reduce their spending. $570 million,
While most administrators said it was too early to tell where and how the cuts would be implemented, they warned of devastating consequences and said parents were right to be concerned.
Following public outcry over budget cuts, the government announced partial reinvestment out of that Wealth But there are strict conditions attached, including recruitment limits.
Chris Craig, Riverside School Board President, who oversees St. Lawrence School, said the decision to keep Ellie at home was collaborative.
“They weren’t asked to leave. They chose to homeschool, which I think might be a good idea in the short term,” he said. “They are potentially looking at reunifying next year.”
Craig explained that schools are underserved due to long-standing budget pressures, which began with austerity measures under the previous Liberal government and continued under the administration of François Legault, which also restricted how budgetary surpluses could be used.
“It’s really tying our hands as to how much money we’re able to release to help students,” he said.
He said the board has been forced to make cuts and cannot provide services at previous levels due to these restrictions and the increasing number of students needing support.
Thousands of students are facing disruption in services
Bianca Nugent is the head of The Alliance of Parents and Children is for Quebec’s special allies (CPEBPQ), which advocates for the educational rights of children with disabilities.
She said some students are learning at home not by choice, but because of service disruptions affecting students with disabilities and learning adaptations.
“When we send kids home, we are violating their rights to social interaction and development like any other normal student,” Nugent said. He said families are often forced to find solutions on their own, placing “a huge burden” on them.
He said the number of students sent home for short periods, on part-time schooling agreements and others are often left out of the official government count.
Information obtained from Quebec’s Ministry of Education by the Liberal Party of Quebec and shared with CBC shows that thousands of students with various types of disabilities across the province are experiencing “disruptions in services” due to a lack of resources.
Around 1,500 students were affected in 2021. This number decreased by about 100 in 2022, and then increased to 2,562 in 2023. The numbers continued to grow and by 2025, 3,417 students experienced disruption in services.
Nugent said the province’s education policy for students with disabilities has not been updated since 1999, failing to take into account the fact that nearly half of some classes require individual education plans.
As funding instability drives specialized staff into the private sector and leaves remaining teachers with unmanageable caseloads, Nugent said, “the social contract is breaking down,” prompting frustrated families to take legal action and make human rights complaints.
Advocacy group acknowledges lack of resources
Laurence Simard-Gagnon described the service break experienced by Ally as illegal and unacceptable. He is on an education committee Ligue des Droits et LibertésA civil rights group.
She also said that children with disabilities were increasingly being kept out of school under precarious or part-time arrangements, which are not counted in official statistics.
He said budget cuts and unstable funding have worsened conditions and stressed the need for proper resources, full-time specialized staff and monitoring to ensure inclusive education.
according to Protector National de l’AleveAccording to the province’s student ombudsman, these terminations are a violation of rights under the Education Act. The agency’s 2023–24 annual activity report identifies “schooling or service disruption” as one of its key concerns.
CBC data journalist Tara Carman gathered data from school boards across the country and found that reported illnesses have tripled in some school districts. And Montreal was no exception. Experts told them that mental health issues could be a reason for the increase in school absenteeism.
These disruptions often affect students with disabilities or learning and adaptation difficulties, as well as students with behavioral challenges. These are the properties described in the reporte problems A number of systemic issues, including financial and physical resource limitations, gaps in school staffing, and inadequate rules for reintegrating students.
“All necessary measures should be taken to ensure the schooling of students,” the report said.
In a statement, the Education Minister’s office said it is always worrying to know that some students face complex circumstances and find their schooling more challenging.
“However, in most cases, these students continue to attend school for part of the week,” the statement said. “Sometimes, for their own well-being and that of others, temporary withdrawal is unfortunately necessary.”
In recent years, the ministry says it has significantly strengthened the network – it says there are more professionals in one out of every two classrooms, more support staff, classroom assistants and about 2,000 special classrooms.
“We will continue to invest in student well-being and work collaboratively with school service centers as well as health network resources, always with students’ best interests in mind,” the statement said.
