Glossary E Words
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Education Act - the provincial law that governs education in Ontario. All school boards must operate according to this law. The Act includes: Education Officer (EO) - position at the Ministry of Education with responsibility to provide information and clarification on legislation, policies and programs to schools, school boards and school authorities as well as facilitate the implementation of policies. Parents may also seek this same information. Additionally, they monitor and report on the effectiveness of the school system and ensure compliance with ministry policies and programs and help provide a strong and vibrant education system. They can be reached through the Field Service Branch of the Ministry of Education.
Legislation: the overall laws, passed as Bills by government, regarding education. The full Act is at http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_90e02_e.htm
Items core to special education are listed at http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/parents/speced.html
Regulations: made by the Minister to expand on the Education Act and give more details about how the Act is to be applied.
Memoranda: instructions issued to schools and boards by the Deputy Ministers; valid until revoked.
Monographs: issued to provide strong suggestions or clarification on contentious issues; not binding, but are important.
Educational Assistant (EA) - individuals who work with students under the supervision of the classroom teacher. The role of the EA developed in response to the Education Amendment Act of 1980 (Bill 82) that brought to light the needs of children with special needs. Essentially, EAs assist students with any type of special need to maximize their learning potential. Each board determines the education and training requirements for EAs that they hire; many have college or university training or other specialised training. EAs may work with an individual or groups of students for part or all of the school day. (For additional information go to ONIP.Online).
Educational Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) - an arms-length agency of the Ministry of Education established to develop and coordinate performance assessments in Reading, Writing, and Mathematics for all students in grades 3, 6, 9 and 10 in Ontario.
Enrichment Learning Resource Teacher (ELRT) - another term for SERT, LRT, or Itinerant Enrichment Teacher (IET /IGT).
English as a Second Language (ESL) - This is covered by the Ministry of Education's Language Grant System, not Special Education designated funding. Within this system there are 5 components. The component that speaks to ESL is the Language Instruction Portion. It states: "Ontario's rigorous curriculum requires that students develop strong English and French language skills for future success. The cultural and linguistic diversity of Ontario's population means that many students require extra help to develop proficiency in the language of instruction. These include students who are recent immigrants to Canada and students who live in homes where the first language spoken is neither English nor French." The term ELL or English Language Learners/ing is becoming more common. For additional information go to Ministry of Education - Student Focused Funding.
Enhanced - level of course or alternative program offered in school placements for gifted students in some school boards.
Enhanced Learning Class (ELC) - a placement or grouping for students who have been identified as gifted in some school boards. Can be primary, junior, intermediate or secondary.Enriched - level of course or alternative program offered in school placements for gifted students in some school boards.
Enrichment - activities that expand or extend a topic or subject and are of benefit to all students. Enrichment activities are not an appropriate substitute for a special education program for students who are gifted.
Evaluation - the process of judging the information that has been obtained from one or more assessments about student learning; may include assigning an indicator of the level of achievement (1-4), a letter grade (A, B, C) or percentage (76%), or a descriptor (Excellent, Good, Fair). Note: not to be confused with "assessment," see also assessment.
Exceptional - A legal designation given to a student by an Identification, Placement and Review Committee. "Pupils who are exceptional are entitled to special education programs and services suited to those needs" (Special Education Information Handbook 1984, Ministry of Education, p.1). The only way to remove the exceptional designation is by an IPRC. ABC strongly recommends that the designation be maintained for gifted students throughout their school years as giftedness is a life long trait with needs that may vary markedly from year to year; however, the agreed placement may not always be in a special gifted program.
Exceptional Pupil - As defined by the Education Act in Sec.1(1), a pupil whose behavioural, communicational, intellectual, physical or multiple exceptionalities are such that he is considered to need placement in a special education program by a committee established under the act. (The committee referred to is an IPRC)
Exceptionality Groupings - a limited number of exceptionalities are defined by the Ministry of Education for the purpose of special education identification and placement. See IPRC. Examples include:
. Behaviour - emotional disturbance and/or social maladjustment.
. Communication - autism, language, speech, learning disability.
. Intellectual - developmental and intellectual delays, giftedness.
. Physical - orthopaedic and/or physical, hearing, vision, head injury, and significant medical conditions.
. Multiple - multi exceptionality.