Background
The Board believes that Early Childhood Services (ECS) programs, designed to address individual developmental and learning needs, enhance the progress of children prior to their entrance into Grade One. Programs may be provided to children with special education needs in accordance with Alberta Education Standards for the Provision of Early Childhood Special Education and related ECS policies.
Definitions
For the purposes of education in Alberta, children are younger than 6 years of age and students are 6 years of age and older.
Early Childhood Services (ECS) refers to the broad coordinated continuum of local and provincial programs that meet the developmental and special needs of young children and their families.
For the purpose of this administrative procedure the 'operator' is the Grasslands School Division Board of Education.
Program Unit Funding (PUF) is funding available to approved ECS operators, in addition to Base Instruction Funding, for young children from 2years 8 months to age 5 who have been assessed with a severe disability/delay.
EELL - An ECS child whose home language is not English and whose oral language proficiency in English has been assessed as non-fluent.
Individualized Program Plan (IPP) means a plan of action designed to address special education needs of a child or student, based on diagnostic information.
Guidelines
Parent enrolment of children in Early Childhood Services programs is voluntary.
The Board supports active parental participation in ECS programs.
Procedures
- Grasslands will provide Early Childhood Services for resident children as outlined in this administrative procedure.
- Children must be five years old by December 31st of the current school year to attend the regular kindergarten program.
- Kindergarten programs will include a minimum of 475 instructional hours. The calendar for kindergarten and pre-kindergarten programs will be developed by the designated Grasslands Central Office administrator, in conjunction with the Early Learning Coordinator.
- Kindergarten is considered the last year of ECS programming before Grade One. A child who is developmentally immature will be permitted to spend a second year in the program, as outlined by Alberta Education. This does not apply to children with special education learning needs.
- Children having special needs are eligible to attend the program at a younger age according to their disability. To be eligible:
- A severely disabled/delayed child must be three years old by December 31st.
- A mildly or moderately disabled/delayed child must be four years old by December 31st
- EELL programming may be provided eligible ESL children who are 4 years old by December 31st.
- The assessment and placement of children having special needs will be in accordance with Alberta Education guidelines. It should involve a coordinated team approach that includes the child's family, teachers and medical and child development specialists/therapists.
- A severely disabled/delayed child enrolled under a Program Unit Fund will be served through an individualized program plan.
- The Board is responsible for establishing and maintaining legal status, employing certificated teachers, and utilizing approved facilities.
- Staffing and budgeting decisions for Kindergarten/ECS will be made as per grades one to twelve, taking into account provincial funding provided for early childhood programs.
- Where numbers do not support a stand-alone kindergarten program, the division, in consultation with the school(s), will determine whether kindergarten children will be placed in multi-graded classrooms or bussed to a neighboring school.