Designation Process

School boards are required to implement procedures for early and ongoing identification of the learning abilities and needs of students. These procedures are a part of continuous assessment and program planning that should begin when the student is first enrolled in school and continue for the rest of the student’s school life.

Step One: Identification and Assessment: Early identification is an essential element of a successful program planning for students with special needs. 

Step Two: Diagnosis or recognition of other exceptional learning needs. Some diagnoses are assessment results from a school psychologist, community-based or medical specialist.  Sometimes, it is information shared by parents, school and other sources.

Step Three: Timeline- at school entry or as soon as the special needs are known.

Step Four: BC checklist is documentation to support that the student has been appropriately assessed and identified.

Category Checklist  

Step Five: Determine whether information and supported required for the student meet British Columbia Ministry of Education Special Education category. 

Step Six: Referral to the school based team that includes a school principal, resource and classroom teacher, counsellor and involves the parent and student.

Step Seven: Planning is the collaborative process in which the student, parents and educators identify educational goals and  (ISPTs) appropriate for the student and the ways for attaining them.  Since the field of exceptionalities keeps evolving, new strategies, practices, tools and technologies are available and have to be made use of by the educational team. 

Assessments should include: information provided by the parents, student, and educator (e.g. language spoken as home, developmental history, classroom observations, educational history, medical information, and educational / professional assessments.

Ongoing are Informal assessment services that include observations, file reviews, consultation with other disciplines, interviews/assessment to determine academic skill development, strengths and weaknesses in learning processes and social/adaptive functioning.

Step Eight: The assessments of the student’s strengths and stretches by the team results in the creation of an Individual Education Plan (IEP), a written plan. This document identifies appropriate goals and objectives, and describes the commitments and services which the educational system makes to help the student reach the goals and objectives and feel successful and included.  An IEP is a record of adaptations and modifications supporting learning expectations and acts as a tool for the student, parents and everyone who has responsibilities under the IEP plan.  Additionally, the team plans a system for measuring and tracking the students learning and successes. Students with special needs have a voice in the design of their IEP to the best of their ability.

BC Ministry of Education (2016)

Additional Resources

Special Needs Categories: BC Ministry of Education website

Category Funding