‘Segregate their children’: Proposed Edmonton Public Schools autism centre raising concerns

The inclusion of an Autism Centre of Excellence (ACE) in Edmonton Public Schools’ three-year capital plan has sparked controversy.

The initiative in the 2026-2029 capital plan is in the early stages, with discussions focused on location, transportation, and program details.

But community members, disability advocates, and education experts raised concerns at Tuesday afternoon’s public school board meeting about transparency, segregation, and the lack of consultation with families.

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“As soon as autistic children begin their journey in EPSB schools, parents are faced with immense pressure from administrators to segregate their children out of mainstream classrooms. We are told that EPSB will not provide the supports needed for our children unless we agree to segregate them,” said Nicole Renaud, a disability advocate with two autistic children who attended EPSB schools, during yesterday’s meeting.

Some members of the public criticized the plan for reinforcing a systemic push toward segregating autistic students rather than supporting inclusive education in community schools.

“While it might seem like a school exclusively for students with autism could offer innovative new educational approaches and expand the educational choices available to parents of children with autism, this isn’t the case,” said Philip Ney, a director with Inclusion Alberta. “Segregated schools for students with disabilities are neither new nor innovative. Such schools were created because students with disabilities were long denied their right to a public education.”

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Parents also expressed frustration over the unexpected inclusion of the proposed autism centre in the capital plan. They questioned the transparency of the process and argued that prioritizing a segregated site over addressing enrollment growth is misguided.

“I’m surprised to see a project that was not even mentioned in the capital plan last year received planning funding in December 2024,” said Rajesh Kumar, an engineer and father of a student with an intellectual disability. “The capital plan that should be focused on meeting enrollment growth pressures is instead investing in a single site for students with autism, for which administration has not established a solid rationale.”

‘Running out of space’

In response, Edmonton Public Schools board (EPSB) Superintendent Darrel Robertson said the division’s commitment to inclusive education and parental choice remain a priority.

Robertson said school authorities must ensure “all children and students, K to 12, regardless of race, religious belief, colour, gender, gender identity, gender expression, physical disability, mental disability, family status or sexual orientation or any other factors, have access to meaningful and relevant learning experience that include appropriate instructional supports.”

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“Our division has had a long history of doing everything that we can to provide choice for parents within our system. And I would argue that choice is not only for children that are accessing alternative programs, but it’s also for children who require specialized support,” he said.

However, the system faces challenges, he said, including growing enrollment pressures and limited classroom space.

“We are actually running out of classroom space in some of our transportation zones,” he said, adding that this has made it difficult to expand division programs.

Robertson described ACE as an opportunity to enhance professional development and wrap-around support.

“The notion of planning funding for an Autism Centre of Excellence gives us an opportunity to dream a little bit about what could be. It’s not meant to provide an education model in the school division for children on the spectrum,” he said.

“When we think about the potential of an Autism Center of Excellence, it’s not one school; we have over 3,000 kids that are diagnosed with autism in the division. The notion that one school is going to accommodate all children in a division our size is just erroneous. How can we position a centre of excellence so that we can access better professional development, better wrap-around supports?”

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Board Chair Julie Kusiek said that the proposal stems from the division’s commitment to offering diverse learning environments.

“So the Center for Excellence in autism is a proposal that we have around how we can best serve students who have a diagnosis of autism within the division… and we’re looking for a variety of ways that we can meet that need through a variety of choices for families,” Kusiek said.

While some parents worry the centre could lead to exclusion rather than inclusion, Kusiek said ACE is designed to complement existing programs rather than replace them, and is “one other choice for families,” not something that “any family would be required to register their child in.”

“Families can choose to have their child attend a community program within their neighbourhood. They can choose a division center program such as the interactions program, or should this program be constructed with our three-year capital plan, they could perhaps choose the centre of excellence for autism,” she said.

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Currently, funding has been secured for the planning phase, which includes determining a suitable location, transportation logistics, and programming specifics. The province will evaluate the request as part of its broader school construction priorities, with further announcements expected during the next round of project approvals.

Enrollment pressures and capital priorities

The controversy over ACE comes as EPSB grapples with surging enrollment and limited classroom space. The division’s 10-year facilities plan 2025-2034 outlines two key challenges, including a deferred maintenance deficit exceeding $1 billion and an enrollment boom that strains school capacity.

Between 2011 and 2019, enrollment grew by an average of 3.3 per cent per year, which is about 3,000 students annually. Post-pandemic, this rate accelerated to 4.5 per cent between 2021 and 2024. The division initially projected a 5.7 per cent increase (about 6,600 students) for the current year, but actual growth reached 4.4 per cent (5,000 students).

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By January 9, 2025, an additional 2,052 students had enrolled, surpassing projections.

To address these challenges, the division has prioritized new school construction and modernization projects. Announced March 19, the division now has five new schools with construction funding, anticipated to open in the next three to five years.

Despite these expansion plans, division staff warn that space shortages will persist into 2034 unless additional funding and construction initiatives are implemented. With utilization rates nearing 90 per cent, trustees and education leaders stress the urgency of securing provincial funding to prevent further overcrowding.

cnguyen@postmedia.com

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