Parents like Heather Rose are bracing for what’s to come if a possible school support worker strike goes ahead on Monday in Nova Scotia. Across the province, the impacts would vary between buses not running, a shift to online learning, a pause in pre-primary education, and, in Rose’s case, her oldest child, Aidan, losing full-time EPA (educational program assistant) support. Rose first heard rumblings of possible job action about one week ago. “Then, two days ago, I got a call from his principal letting me know that [Aidan] would be most likely able to access school for 30 minutes per day, hopefully, and that they hoped maybe an hour once they get things settled,” she tells CTV News. “They also let me know that the contingency plan put in place by HRCE was that parents can be now designated caregivers, and that I am able to apply to attend school with him for the day so that he wouldn’t miss any time.” Rose, who lives in Hubley, says it feels like déjà vu, “and not a good one,” from 2023 when Halifax-area school support staff went on strike. “It’s so disheartening, as his parent, to even put it into words what this would mean to him to lose his access to school,” she says, “and beyond the education part, the socialization. “Being denied access to education goes against the Nova Scotia [Inclusive] Education Policy.” Option for mother to attend school But she says the school presented another option to her; one she struggled with. She was told she could apply to attend class with him after completing a series of checks, such as a Vulnerable Sector Check and Child Abuse Registry Check. “Me also accessing school with him, instead of the people who are trained and need to be there, doesn’t sit right with me,” she says. “I don’t want to cross that picket line… And I don’t want to destroy his independence. “Asking parents to come in and act as a TA or EPA, is frankly, it’s a surprising and appalling approach,” says Brian Foster, executive director of Inclusion NS. “They need to think about how to not target students with disabilities for this labour action as a way to insulate others from the consequences.” The Halifax Regional Centre for Education says a slew of job classifications would be impacted. “The ability to attend school will depend, in part, on the individual supports a student requires and how those supports may be affected by job action,” wrote spokesperson Lindsey Bunin in an email. “We recognize the uncertainty this creates for families, and we are working to understand and plan for these impacts as fully as possible. “We are not able to confirm a blanket arrangement for parents or caregivers to accompany their children to school. Any such arrangements would need to be considered in the context of the individual student’s needs and the circumstances at the school.” Bunin said HRCE remains hopeful a contract agreement will be reached. Inclusion NS agrees with Rose, saying the province’s inclusive education policy is not being followed. “I think that without question, the policy is not being followed, and frankly, I think that it’s not even being thought of right now,” Foster says. “I think that, if resources or additional systems or training or personnel need to be in place in order to ensure inclusion, apart from what’s going on with the labour negotiations, that is a conversation that should have happened before this.” The Department of Education declined an interview with CTV News on Thursday, saying it was “supporting the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial (CSAP) in their preparations for tomorrow’s final scheduled collective bargaining meeting with CUPE.” “We know families and school staff are anxious about what next week will bring,” wrote Krista Higdon, an education department spokesperson. “To be clear, we have not yet received the mandatory 48 hours’ notice that CUPE intends to initiate a labour disruption, and all school operations are continuing.” Higdon said the government’s labour team asked CUPE to confirm if the union intends to begin job action on Monday, but did not hear back. “We are hopeful CUPE will respond to our request shortly so Regions and CSAP can finalize plans and communicate with families,” she said. “Our hope is that, in the event of a labour disruption, CUPE and other labour partners will agree on ways to accommodate students with complex needs who would otherwise not be able to participate in school with their peers.” For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
