Change in technological assistance for students with special needs

An additional budget of 4.6 million $ will be dedicated by the Ministry of Education to make information and communication technologies accessible to students with disabilities or with adaptation or learning difficulties. This brings the total amount to 6.6 million $. This is not, however, "new money", but a transfer from the envelope of the allowance program for special needs.

This change will ensure that the equipment can now be used by the student at school and at home. “This harmonization of technological aid allocation measures confirms the central role of the intervention plan in identifying the specific needs of students in class and at home,” says Esther Chouinard, press relations manager. from the Ministry of Education.

"To be eligible, technological aids must have been identified as part of the intervention plan process and be essential to the student's participation in the educational activities of the school", states in the tags management of the measure. The sums can be used for the purchase of computers, peripherals adapted to the needs of the young person, software appropriate to the communication and learning needs of the pupil, devices allowing the user to construct messages with symbols or pictograms which are then translated into a sound or text message, etc. In particular, operating systems, office application software, antivirus software, interactive whiteboards, multimedia projectors, cameras, camcorders, educational games and diagnostic software are excluded.

Students can bring this material home if necessary, even if it belongs to the school board. “When changing schools or school boards, the material follows the student. In the event of a change of school board, ownership of the material is transferred to the school board that receives the student. […] The material follows the student as long as he is educated by a school board, including vocational training or general adult education, provided that the student is in continuity of studies and that this material is always appropriate. When the student leaves the school network, the material is made available to other students in the school board. "