As shared in the "Investor" section, the BC Ministry of Education is responsible to fulfill its duties outlined within its Ministerial Mandate Letter. These duties are addressed in the Ministry's Service Plan and more clearly defined as goals and objectives within the Plan.
Accounting for 34% of the overall provincial budget, the Ministry of Education is responsible for providing education to over 655,000 students in BC. Supplemental funding (for students with special needs) accounts for $664M, which is equivalent to 9.83% of the ministry budget.
The Ministry of Education currently funds organizations such as SET-BC and AT-BC, which lend AAC apps and devices to students who are eligible for their programs. Unfortunately, the number of students who become eligible represent a very small minority when compared to those in need of such apps and devices. As only a small number of students with special needs is receiving the support that they need, the Ministry of Education is not fulfilling its obligations as outlined in its Ministerial Mandate Letter and failing to deliver on its goals and objectives as indicated within its Service Plan.
The cost of an AAC app is typically under $500. The total cost of pairing an AAC app ($500) with an AAC device ($500) and training ($1,000) equals $2,000 per student. This presents good value when compared to dedicated speech generating devices (SGD) typically costing $5,000. Pairing a SGD ($5,000) with training ($1,000) brings the total up to $6,000 per student.
This Educational Venture Analyst (EVA) recommendation provides the Ministry with useful information on the total cost of supporting a student with an AAC app, device, and training ($2,000). BC has approximately1,600 public schools and 400 private schools, accounting for a total of 2,000 schools in the province. By providing each school the ability to support one student with an AAC app, the Ministry is able to help support 2,000 special needs students the ability to communicate with others, demonstrate their academic understanding and abilities, and be meaningfully included within their classroom environments. At an estimated cost of $4M per year, a 5-year strategic plan will provide the BC Ministry of Education the ability to help 10,000 students at a total project cost of $20M. To put this into perspective and context, $4M is equivalent to 0.07% of the annual operating grant provided to school districts. This funding by the Ministry will allow it to achieve Service Plan goals and objectives quicker, while promoting inclusion and equity within numerous classroom and school environments.
Funding will be used to:
Train staff and family to be aware of mythical perceptions of AAC.
Provide training on what communication supports are needed.
Deliver AAC consultations.
Support ongoing training to implement the use of AAC, including regular and consistent check-ins.
Many special needs students are unable to fully demonstrate their understanding and competence to the educational staff and system. The goal of this Analyst Report is to secure funding from the BC Ministry of Education to a new initiative in facilitating training and supporting the inclusion of AAC users within their respective schools and classrooms.