A: EQUALITY OF OUTCOMES

 

PREMISE 8A (a)

 

P&C Federation endorses the proclamation in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations that all of the human family, without distinction of any kind, have equal and inalienable rights of human dignity and freedom and rights to education and training to enable development of their abilities to their fullest potential. P&C Federation also endorses the affirmation contained in the Declaration of the Rights of the Child adopted by the United Nations of the right of the physically, intellectually or socially disabled child to the treatment, education and care required by his or her particular condition.

 

PREMISE 8A (b)

 

Governments have an obligation to provide appropriate free education in government schools for all children. The predominant aim should be to provide a sufficiency of opportunity to maximise the outcome for each individual. All young people from any background, belonging to any group, and specifically including those seen as having special needs, have a capacity to learn. All children have a right to schooling which enables them to recognise and develop their personal aptitudes. They should learn the skills needed to use their talents. They must be helped and encouraged to find ways to apply their talents and skills in a personally fulfilling way.

 

POLICY

 

8.1  Children do not all have the same aptitudes, attain the same skills or require precisely the same knowledge. Schooling should provide for all young people independent access to knowledge, the skills and understanding to shape their own lives, and the ability to contribute in shaping the society of which they are a part. They must be encouraged to look carefully and assess all knowledge, regardless of its authority and status. They must gain the confidence necessary to make and hold independent judgments about the value and validity of information.

 

8.2  All pupils should be encouraged to learn from experience. Even codified knowledge cannot be truly learned until it is felt to fit into an existing perspective. Education must value and take into account the experiences of all groups. A school system that expects the experiences of a dominant group to result in learning for all students is bound to perpetuate inequality and to fail large numbers of students.

 

8.3  The special needs of all students must be recognised and provision made for them. Where possible, provision for the special needs of one group should be associated with broadened educational experience for all. The list of special needs is not closed, but at least the following require special provision, commencing with early recognition and continuing with appropriate nurture throughout school life:

 

(a)    any situation where the school brings together children of greatly differing backgrounds, whether the differences are cultural, linguistic, ethnic, geographic, economic or social is immaterial;

 

(b)   the many cases where a largely shared background among teaching staff contrasts sharply with that of the rest of the school community;

 

(c)    Aboriginal students within a school as a special, though most important, example of cultural difference requiring special provisions to be made;

 

(d)   left-handed children;

 

(e)    children with special gifts, whether academic, artistic, athletic, musical or in any other area. Among those requiring most careful attention are those who are intensely gifted in a narrow area;

 

(f)     children with disabilities recognised under New South Wales and Federal Anti-discrimination legislation including emotional, intellectual, physical and sensory disabilities. Those children with combinations of disabilities obviously needing even more continuing care;

 

(g)    children who through circumstances of socioeconomic disadvantage experience unequal educational outcomes, with the Disadvantaged Schools Program being one avenue of redress of inequalities for students living in poverty;

 

(h)    children who, by reason of isolation, require help to get what in other places is considered normal schooling; and

 

(i)      children with allergies, asthma, epilepsy, haemophilia or AIDS who can commonly function normally in a school but who may need special care to avoid situations, routine for other children but presenting personal risk to themselves or others.

 

8.4  Special programs devised to cope with the diversity of special needs must be cost free for the parents of those involved. Priorities of funding and of training for teachers must be organised to maximise the outcomes of all children. Within the constraints of budgets, services must be provided with a minimum disturbance to family life. Any program must be designed to cater to the needs of children, never as a means of disguising those needs, and all programs must be judged by their effectiveness and not by dogma. At the base of all such programs it will be necessary to provide:

 

(a)    appropriate funding for recurrent and capital needs including additional human resources where they are needed, especially trained teachers' aides;

 

(b)   parental involvement with a free flow of information to parents together with supportive counselling as required;

 

(c)    early identification of need and unbroken patterns of support combined with recognition and protection of privacy; and

 

(d)   continuing independent public assessment of the programs' effectiveness with essential parent or carer input.

 

8.5  State education authorities have a responsibility for implementing innovative educational programs which enhance learning experiences for all children.

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8.6  The needs of individual special education students must be considered in determining an appropriate point of exit from special education programs in schools and negotiation between all parties involved should occur prior to the student moving beyond the school system.

 

8.7  P&C Federation believes that the allocation of Support Teacher Learning Difficulties (STLDs) to schools should not be solely based on the results of the BST or ELLA test, but rather on a needs basis determined by individual schools including senior high schools.

 

8.8  Teachers selected for Support Teacher Learning Difficulties positions should have additional Special Education qualifications plus receive ongoing training and development relevant to the job.

 

B: CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES - SPECIAL EDUCATION

 

PREMISE 8B (a)

 

P&C Federation supports the replacement of 'service by diagnostic category' by provisions determined by individual educational and developmental needs. The individual needs should be met by a range of differential services expressed through appropriate and well planned curricula, programs and environments conducted by sensitive and well trained personnel in conjunction with parents and families. All people working in the field of

Special Education must have an understanding of, and a commitment to the concept that every individual is of value i.e., the 'Principles of Normalisation'.

 

PREMISE 8B (b)

 

Every Classroom teacher must have the training, either through pre-service or in-service, to recognise common symptoms of dysfunctions or disabilities that may impede a student's learning. All teachers should be required to alert parents when they observe such indicators.

 

POLICY

 

8.9  Educational services for children with disabilities should be based on the recognition of five levels of need:

 

(a)    students whose learning difficulties and learning disabilities can be treated successfully by regular school staff;

 

(b)   students whose learning difficulties and learning disabilities are such that their teacher needs specialised advisory services to maintain their development in the regular class;

 

(c)    students whose learning difficulties and learning disabilities are such that the regular school staff needs the assistance of specially trained teachers;

 

(d)   students needing support class placement; and

 

(e)    students needing placement in a specific education centre - Schools for Specific Purposes.

 

8.10     P&C Federation supports the need for parents and families of children with special educational needs to gain access to education, training and development programs which will assist them to share more directly in the education of their child.

 

8.11     P&C Federation supports the intent of the Freedom of Information Act for parents to give informed consent and to receive access to information on all matters relating to the education of their child.

 

8.12     P&C Federation advocates the continued provision of Special Education teacher education programs and identifiable funding for such programs at both pre-service and in-service stages to prepare teachers to better meet the special educational needs of children. With this in mind, P&C Federation encourages and supports the careful monitoring of teacher education programs so that quality and content is assured. Trainee teachers should be screened as to their suitability, in terms of attitudes and expectations, to work in the field of Special Education.

 

8.13     P&C Federation believes it is essential that compulsory units in Special Education be included in all accredited pre-service teacher education courses at early childhood, primary and post-primary levels. The content of such courses should provide student teachers with all of the following:

 

(a)    basic knowledge of the developmental and learning difficulties and learning disabilities which will be encountered by teachers in the regular classroom at pre-school, primary and secondary levels;

 

(b)   assessment and teaching strategies related to specific development and learning difficulties and learning disabilities and knowledge of access to and use of support services such as Resource Teachers, School Counsellors, and interdisciplinary services; and

 

(c)    observational techniques and practicum with specific experiences in implementing programs for children with learning difficulties and learning disabilities and/or behavioural problems within the regular classroom.

 

8.14     Before being accepted to work with children with disabilities, therapists, aides and volunteers must be screened to assess their attitudes and expectations to determine their suitability to work in this field of education. Once suitability is established, in-service training should begin.

 

8.15     Early education programs should begin as soon as the disability is identified and there should then be a continuum of suitable programs throughout the child's school life. This early education should be the responsibility of the Department of Education and Training, but must work with existing Early Intervention Programs.

 

8.16     Where multiple disabilities exist, support must be provided to fully meet all the needs of the student and each case must be assessed on an individual basis.

 

8.17     Class sizes for those students with disabilities assessed as having the greatest needs should be kept at a maximum of six, with a full-time aide being provided.

 

8.18     If a child is referred for assessment, parents must be notified and their permission for an evaluation sought. A multi-disciplinary assessment team should make the evaluation and it should include the child's parents or their advocate, to represent the child.

 

8.19     Effective transition programs should be implemented for students moving from one level or type of service to another. These programs should involve close liaison with all those involved with the ongoing development of the child.

 

8.20     Children with disabilities should, where possible, be taught to use regular public transport to travel to and from school, as part of their life-education process.

 

8.21     Students recognised as needing placement in a specific education centre, including Schools for Specific Purposes, should be subject to ongoing assessment to determine their continuing enrolment or placement elsewhere.

 

8.22     With respect to integration of students with disabilities in regular schools and classes, P&C Federation recommends that:

 

(a)    government funding should be increased proportionally with the increasing demand for this service in government schools and that this funding should then be maintained for as long as it is required;

 

(b)   the DET should ensure that where a child is enrolled in a mainstream school with integration funding, that funding be provided for each child enrolled in mainstream school and continues for the duration of that enrolment unless it can be demonstrated that such support is no longer needed;

 

(c)    present and future plans by the DET and its Regions be made known to both professionals and parents and that parent representatives be involved at all stages of planning;

 

(d)   children have the right to enroll at their local school with the aim of placing them in the least restrictive and most advantageous educational environment;

 

(e)    where necessary, additional resources are allocated to support enrolment in the neighbourhood school;

 

(f)     where the needs of the child cannot be met at the neighbourhood school, provision should be made for movement from one Special Education service delivery model to another;

 

(g)    as integration develops and the expertise in Schools for Specific Purposes disperses, new staffing formulae be implemented whereby isolated classes, individuals and their teachers, aides and parents are supported by a Head Teacher based at one particular school in that SEA;

 

(h)    there is flexibility to allow the interchange of teachers between schools in a SEA in order that students in any one class do not have the same teachers for many years;

 

(i)      integration should be planned, i.e. the host school environment including physical and other resources, teachers, parents and pupils (both those with disabilities to be integrated and those of the host school) should be prepared before integration takes place;

 

(j)     SEA support be given to the host school in the preparation of resources, policy-making, programs and curriculum design;

 

(k)   once a class is established, ongoing adaptation of programs should provide for further integration so that individual needs are served to benefit the students with special needs and other children at the school; and

 

(l)      all students and classes with special needs in a regular school must be an integral part of that school.

 

C ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER PEOPLES EDUCATION

 

PREMISE 8C

 

Governments, community agencies and the DET must make efforts aimed at equalising educational opportunities for Aboriginal students. Efforts must be made to improve living standards, economic opportunities and general community attitudes towards Aboriginal people, as well as specifically addressing educational issues. Aboriginal people must also be provided with employment opportunities and encouragement to access further education to enable them to establish economic independence.

 

POLICY

 

8.23     Governments must provide the opportunity for all Aboriginal children to benefit from pre- school education.

 

8.24     Provision must be made for Aboriginal students to take advantage of the educational programs available, especially in country areas, including access to suitable accommodation when necessary.

 

8.25     All teacher education institutions must, during the course of a teacher's pre-service training, include appropriate modules which cover Aboriginal culture, language and Aboriginal community values to ensure that stereotypes about Aboriginal people based on ignorance and prejudice are not perpetuated.

 

8.26     The teaching of Aboriginal Studies must be compulsory in all government schools in Years 7 and 8, including a history of the continuing effects of forcible removal.

 

8.27     P&C associations, District and regional councils should be encouraged to take steps to work with existing AECG local area committees to co-ordinate approaches to local issues.

 

8.28     P&C Federation should ensure that the number of Aboriginal Education Assistants employed in schools is based on locally identified needs.

 

D: MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION

 

PREMISE 8D

 

Australia is a multicultural society and the needs of children of differing cultural backgrounds require special consideration by governments. The differing cultures present have contributed to Australian society in valuable ways. All education must reflect insight, understanding and respect for cultural frameworks found among students. This is an additional reason for involving parents and citizens in the learning process, as they can teach teachers about the diversity of experience present in Australia. Children who live with diversity and are encouraged to value diversity in ordinary classes should not need special instruction, but should have enriched learning experiences.

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POLICY

 

8.29    Among important perspectives on any student's education are those derived for each individual from ethnic origin, racial background, spiritual belief, class and gender. There is one mixture of these for each individual. Everyone has the capacity to learn by building on this personal background.

 

8.30    There are social and educational benefits for children and society from students being involved in differing languages and cultures.

 

8.31    Children whose first language is not English should be encouraged to continue reading in, writing in and speaking their first language from the early years.

 

8.32     P&C Federation calls for:

 

(a)    the DET and teacher training institutions to conduct pre-service and in-service courses to heighten the awareness and sensitivity of teachers and administrators to the needs of children from differing cultural backgrounds;

 

(b)   Principals, Regional Directors, Regional Offices and the DET to ensure that communications, oral and written, between home and school be in languages that parents can understand;

 

(c)    the setting up of interpreter and translation services available to schools;

 

(d)   the appointment of liaison officers with appropriate bilingual or multilingual competencies to all schools with sizeable non-English speaking populations to facilitate communications between home and school;

 

(e)    the DET to expand the teaching of community languages in schools and to integrate bilingual and multicultural units into school learning programs;

 

(f)     the DET to ensure that the curriculum reflects the needs of our multicultural society, including fluency in written and spoken English; and

 

(g)    the DET to appoint properly trained teaching assistants, with appropriate cultural backgrounds and language skills to assist classroom teachers in classes with a high proportion of children from differing backgrounds.

 

 

E: RURAL EDUCATION

 

PREMISE 8E

 

Government schools should be organised to ensure a maximisation of outcome for all students, regardless of geographic location. There are quantitative and qualitative differences between rural communities as well as between rural and urban communities. Rural communities in general have limited access to educational and learning experiences, overall education resources and increased communication difficulties. The principle of differential provision as a means of taking account of such circumstances is supported by P&C Federation. Rural communities, as organisational and social entities, should participate in determination of their educational needs and their provision. Community involvement in decision-making will result in the better utilisation of educational resources within each rural community.

 

POLICY

 

8.33     P&C Federation calls on the State Government to participate in any studies of travel, educational services for isolated children, curriculum development and educational provision for itinerant families, such as were originally proposed in the Schools' Commission study Away From Home Facilities for Isolated Children.

 

8.34     P&C Federation calls on State and Federal governments to improve the delivery of educational services to rural communities and, in particular, to geographically isolated children by:

 

(a)    expanding professional support programs for teachers in small and/or isolated schools;

 

(b)   providing resources to expand itinerant teacher services, consultancy services and counseling services for children in rural communities;

 

(c)    taking action to improve rural secondary school retention rates, considering both curriculum and resource implications;

 

(d)   initiating research into the effects of parent, teacher and peer expectations on the type and level of secondary subjects sought and studied and on student performance and into the effects of isolation on the education of students with special needs;

 

(e)    increasing the options available in the secondary curriculum in small High Schools and Central Schools;

 

(f)     including a compulsory period of practice teaching in rural areas during pre-service teacher training;

 

(g)    implementing more appropriate skills training and support for teachers entering the service for appointment to isolated rural schools or, later in their careers, taking up their first rural appointment;

 

(h)    the provision of additional funding for in-service and teacher development programs for teachers in isolated schools; and

 

(i)      the provision of additional incentives to teachers prepared to accept and remain in appointments to rural and isolated schools.

 

(j)     ensuring all children who are geographically isolated from a pre-school have access to Distance Education pre-school services.

 

8.35     P&C Federation requests governments or the DET, as appropriate; to provide for the needs of geographically isolated children by:

 

(a)    building, equipping and staffing government boarding schools situated, where possible, at central locations to allow as many students as possible to return home at weekends;

 

(b)   providing accommodation at these boarding schools at a cost not exceeding the cost of keeping the students in their own homes;

 

(c)    increasing the number of boarding places, male and female, in government boarding schools to allow students from isolated areas greater access to public education;

 

(d)   setting new boarder intakes for both Year 7 and Year 11, the latter to allow for students from K-10 Central Schools to continue their education at government schools;

 

(e)    providing transport and accommodation subsidies to overcome the constraints placed on rural students' opportunities to participate in social, cultural and sporting pursuits;

(f)     providing travel assistance to government school students who need to live away from home to attend the nearest government school that satisfies the individual student's educational requirements, so that the students may travel to and from home for designated vacation periods;

 

(g)    providing travel grants for an adult to accompany all government school children required to travel by air or otherwise for the purpose of remedial assessment or assistance;

 

(h)    supporting the use of a sufficient number of 30-watt high power transponders on AUSSAT to provide adequate educational services on both radio and television transmissions to remote areas;

 

(i)      providing sufficient suitable equipment as a basic resource for geographically isolated children;

 

(j)     making sufficient funds and staff release time available to enable country schools to conduct an adequate excursion program; and

 

(k)   assisting isolated schools overcome the problems of inconvenient and expensive communication with SEA and other essential points of contact.

 

F: GIFTED STUDENTS

 

PREMISE 8F

 

All students must be encouraged and supported to reach their potential. Students with exceptional abilities in one or more areas present particular challenges in school education, including many who feel alienated from their age peers and who engage in patterns of behaviour that may hide their abilities. To facilitate the right of these students to reach their potential, P&C Federation believes the public education system needs to implement appropriate policies and practices to meet their educational and social needs.

 

Gifted/talented children are those children who possess an untrained and spontaneously expressed natural ability in at least one ability domain significantly beyond that typically seen in children of the same age. Giftedness comes in many forms and levels. It is found in students of all socio-economic groups, and of diverse personalities and backgrounds. It can be combined with other exceptionalities/special needs such as learning disabilities, socio-economic disadvantage, geographic isolation, Aboriginality and having English as a second language.

 

POLICY

 

8.36     Families with gifted students have, in line with all parents, the right to expect appropriate educational responses and provisions that meet their children's needs.

 

8.37     P&C Federation believes the development of gifted children is not automatic. It depends on a range of environmental and personality factors, including supporting home, school and learning environments.

 

8.38     P&C Federation supports the establishment and maintenance of school environments that encourage and celebrate excellence in any domain.

 

8.39     P&C Federation notes the research that teachers' capacity to identify and provide for the needs of gifted students depends critically on the training they receive and asserts that educational authorities have a fundamental responsibility to ensure that all staff are trained to recognise and provide for the needs of gifted students.

 

(a)    The compulsory core of pre-service teacher education courses at early childhood, primary and secondary levels should provide student teachers with practical knowledge of:

 

                              (i)      the range of characteristics and behavioural patterns of gifted students which will be encountered in the regular classroom to assist teacher identification, including when accompanied by other special factors;

 

                            (ii)      teaching strategies and practices within the classroom that facilitate appropriate educational experiences of every student;

 

                           (iii)      case-studies with acceleration and tailoring individual education programs for students whose needs cannot reasonably be met within a class of their age peers; and

 

                          (iv)      the range of support services and tailored educational provisions that is available to assist in meeting the needs of these students.

 

(b)   In-service training should be provided to all schools across the state covering the above training goals to reach current teachers, and this should be provided as a state-level coordinated training initiative beyond the limited funding available to each school for staff training. Where possible this training should include community information sessions to help parents understand the ways giftedness can be handled in both school and home environments.

 

(c)    Teachers undertaking specialist gifted education roles within schools and the education system should generally have a high level of training or expertise in this field and gifted educational qualifications should be used as a factor for the filling of existing and new specialist gifted positions.

 

8.40     The NSW State Government and Department of Education and Training should provide a sufficient allocation of time and resources so that:

 

(a)    each school has a gifted students' coordinator to support the principal by coordinating gifted provisions implemented inside and outside the regular classroom and to provide support for, and overview outcomes of, teachers meeting the needs of gifted students in their classes;

 

(b)   each region has a gifted students' coordinator to support schools by coordinating gifted provisions and in-service training, networking and support for the regions in-school gifted students' coordinators and teachers;

 

(c)    the state educational system has a Gifted Education Unit to:

 

                              (i)      support the gifted students' coordinators across the state;

 

                            (ii)      develop state-wide provisions and resources;

 

                           (iii)      support teacher networking in the area of gifted students including via conferences and electronic technologies; and

 

                          (iv)      develop and review implementation of policy across the state;

 

(d)   each school and district can procure teaching resources and incur peripheral expenses (entrance fees, transport costs) involved in the range of provisions.

 

8.41     P&C Federation supports the use of strategies found by research to support the diverse range of learning and other needs of students (including the gifted), such as:

 

(a)    open-ended questions and activities;

 

(b)   flexible ability grouping strategies both within and across classes and schools (including vertical integration), with these groupings varying by content area, and being regularly reviewed and reformed;

 

(c)    individual and small group research and contract work with active student ownership;

 

(d)   flexible progression strategies within content areas, (including acceleration with the agreement of the parents and student and subject to ongoing review and counselling/support);

 

(e)    extension activities, both within and across class groupings, with self-selection by students used in conjunction with other selection practices to ensure equity of opportunity;

 

(f)     appropriate mentoring arrangements; and

 

(g)    the provision, monitoring and review of individual education programs for students whose educational needs are not able to be appropriately met otherwise.

 

8.42     A state-wide Extension Program across all government schools should be established to coordinate the provision of open-ended learning opportunities beyond the prescribed school curriculum. Interested students, parents and teachers should be involved in determining the topics to be explored, with some of these involving content and depth explicitly addressing the needs of gifted students. Selection should include self-selection by students based on clear understanding of the proposed content and purpose. The program should be properly resourced in all schools and should be subject to proper reporting at school, regions and system level. The program should be used to promote government schools and their meeting of the diverse needs of their students, including gifted students.

 

8.43     P&C Federation supports a school-student numbers based formula for funding schools for time-intensive gifted provisions such as mentor arrangements and Individual Education Programs to ensure that they are available across the state for all students that need them. Expenditure of this funding should be under the supervision of the Gifted Education Unit to ensure appropriateness.

 

8.44     All the monies required to pay for positions and materials for gifted and talented students shall be from new funds.

 

Action Items

 

1.            That P&C Federation calls on the New South Wales Minister for Education and Training to establish additional provision for students in rural and isolated schools so they are able to access Distance Education as a curriculum guarantee. This provision must ensure that the school does not suffer a reduction in face-to-face teaching time or that the number of students provided with the access is limited. (2003)

 

2.            That P&C Federation call on the NSW Minister of Education and Training to reinstate the procedures which applied in 2002 for the allocation of funding to schools to support children with mild intellectual disabilities or language disorders. These funds should be allocated to the student and issued directly to schools for the provision of school based support programs. P&C Federation calls upon DET to establish and fund training for special training of teachers in special education for that purpose where the need arises. (2003)

 

3.            That P&C Federation calls on the NSW Minister for Education and Training to establish a discrete fund, additional to existing funds, to enable government school students in isolated and rural communities to access activities such as inter-school sport, inter-school debating and combined choirs and music camps. (2003)

 

4.            That P&C Federation supports all schools trialling programs such as the Tumbi Umbi Campus of the Tuggarah Lakes Secondary College where an innovative pilot program is being run to address the needs of students who are alienated from education by disengaging from mainstream school, and demands financial support from DET for these programs. (2003)

5.            92 87

6.            That P&C Federation write to the Minister for Education and Training and the Director General that the current Country Areas Program (CAP) structures remain as they are at present and not altered due to the proposed DET restructure. (2003)

 

7            That Conference calls on the P&C Federation to investigate and organise a public forum highlighting issues for rural, regional and isolated education, encompassing difficulties and emphasising the positive and pleasurable aspects. (2003)

 

8.            That P&C Federation calls on the New South Wales Minister for Education and Training to establish additional provision for students in rural and isolated schools so they are able to access Distance Education as a curriculum guarantee. This provision must ensure that the school does not suffer a reduction in face-to-face teaching time or that the number of students provided with the access is limited. (2003)

 

9.            That P&C Federation calls on the New South Wales Minister for Education and Training to establish a discrete fund, additional to existing funds, to enable government school students in isolated and rural communities to access activities such as inter-school sport, inter-school debating and combined choirs and music camps. (2003)

 

10.         That P&C Federation calls on the Federal Minister for Education, Training and Youth Affairs to index the Isolated Children's Allowance to ensure that those living in isolation and having to use a generator for electricity are not disadvantaged by the deregulation of the cost of fuel required to run educational equipment such as a computer, telephone or fax. (2003)

 

11.         That P&C Federation calls on the DET to provide furnished teacher housing for all teachers requiring it in rural and remote areas where rental accommodation is not available. (2003)

 

12.        That:

(a)    The P&C Federation requests the Department of Education and Training to immediately provide and implement a compulsory training course for all currently employed and working teachers’ aides/integration aides/special aides working with students in all educational facilities and that these training courses not be funded out of existing Departmental programs.

 

(b)    for future employment Teacher’s aides/integration aides/special aides, must have undertaken this specialist training. (2004)

 

13.        That P&C Federation urges the Department of Education and Training, as a matter of urgency, to support public education by examining new ways of assisting schools in relation to students whose repeat behaviours seriously jeopardize the teaching/learning process. This support needs to be proactive and innovative beyond the existing student support provisions and suspensions. (2004)