Inclusion Edmonton Region calls on Edmonton Public Schools to honour parental choice of inclusive education

April 17, 2025

In an April 1st Edmonton Public School Board (EPSB) meeting, Superintendent Darrel Robertson responded to concerns of children with developmental disabilities being excluded from general education classrooms by saying that inclusion is the division’s first choice and that if parents encounter resistance at school to reach out to him and the division would work to ensure parental choice of an inclusive education is honoured. Fourteen parents and advocates attended EPSB’s board meeting on April 15th to describe how, contrary to the superintendent’s assurances, their choice has not been honoured. Parents are repeatedly told their child can’t be included in the regular education classroom, isn’t wanted, that there are neither the resources nor funding to support them, and that instruction can’t be adapted. They said families feel forced to accept placement in segregated Interactions classrooms—when this isn’t their choice.

Recordings of the speakers can be watched at three points in the meeting: first speakers, second speakers, and third speakers.

Inclusion Edmonton Region calls on the school division to commit to enforcing their publicly stated mandate that an inclusive education, where children with disabilities are welcomed into the general education classroom alongside their non-disabled peers, is their first choice, and ensuring that parental choice of inclusive education is honoured.

“This means not making parents feel guilty for asking for the support their child deserves, as if it was taking away from other children,” says Karen Pedersen-Bayus, a retired teacher of 30+ years, parent of an adult son with an intellectual disability, and a board member with Inclusion Edmonton Region, who spoke at the April 15th meeting. “It means not discouraging parents with comments such as ‘supports aren’t available’, ‘curriculum can’t be adapted’, ‘inclusion isn’t possible past Grade 6’ or ‘teachers aren’t trained to teach your child’.” 

“I just don’t think that in 2025, access to inclusive education should be a privilege,” says parent Andree Busenius. “It’s a right."

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For more information, please contact: mail@inclusionedmonton.org or (780) 695-1845

EPSB’s new planned segregated school for children with Autism.

Read Inclusion Alberta’s Facebook Post:

This planned segregated school for children with autism is being touted by the Edmonton Public School Board as a ‘choice’ for families, yet we know countless Edmonton School Division parents who have sought and continue to seek our assistance in having their child with autism receive an inclusive education in their community school alongside their non-disabled peers but are denied this choice, and who are told their child will only receive the support they require if they agree to segregate their child in an ‘Interactions’ classroom. One cannot claim parents are freely choosing, when in reality one option is readily available and the other, the inclusive classroom, is not. It is clear that this administration prefers to segregate children with autism.

Check out our curated news page to read the full article: https://inclusionalberta.org/curated-news-content/

Disability Advocate Sounds the Alarm After Government Slashes Funding.

Action is urgently needed.

Tell Minister Nixon that it’s time to fix the crisis in care:

Here are links to the Inclusion Alberta website where you can find more information about recent important issues:

1) Government of Alberta claws back Canada Disability Benefit

2) Contact your MLA about adults and children with intellectual disabilities being unable to get the supports they need to live a meaningful life.

3) Cuts to children and adults with intellectual disabilities and their families.

Inclusion Alberta’s Media Release:

4) Survey Results on Bureaucratic and Systemic Barriers to accessing appropriate supports:

5) School Support Worker Strike