Article – Edmonton parents are increasingly voicing concerns that our public school system isn’t truly meeting the needs of all students. After spending last week interviewing families across the city, it’s becoming clear that “inclusive education” might be more aspiration than reality for many Edmonton children with diverse learning needs.
“They kept telling us Julia was welcome, but then they’d suggest maybe she’d be ‘happier elsewhere,'” shares Morgan Desveaux, mother of a 9-year-old with ADHD and sensory processing challenges. “We weren’t asking for special treatment—just for teachers to understand her needs.”
This sentiment echoes across kitchen tables throughout Edmonton neighborhoods, where parents describe fighting exhausting battles for basic accommodations within a system supposedly designed to support all learners.
The Edmonton Public School Board officially embraces inclusive education, stating on their website that they’re “committed to inclusive, accessible learning environments that provide each student with the appropriate supports and opportunities to learn and succeed.” But the lived experiences of many families suggest a troubling gap between policy and practice.
According to data from Inclusion Alberta, approximately 17% of Edmonton students have identified learning differences requiring some level of accommodation—yet resources remain stretched painfully thin. The average Edmonton public school has just 2.3 full-time educational assistants supporting classrooms where teachers might have 5-7 students with diverse learning requirements.
I met with Emma Lauder, who teaches Grade 4 at Westbrook Elementary. She didn’t mince words about the challenges she faces daily.
“I have 26 students, including three with diagnosed learning disabilities, one non-verbal student, and two with behavioral challenges. I love them all, but I have maybe 20 minutes of educational assistant support per day,” Lauder explains. “We talk about inclusion, but without proper resources, we’re setting everyone up to fail—the students with special needs, their classmates, and certainly the teachers.”
Dr. Nirmala Kaushik, an educational psychologist who consults with families navigating learning challenges, points to systemic issues within Edmonton’s approach.
“True inclusion isn’t just about physical placement in mainstream classrooms,” she says. “It requires a fundamental shift in how we structure learning environments and train educators. Edmonton Public has the right philosophy but hasn’t fully implemented the infrastructure needed to make it successful.”
The financial reality is stark. While Alberta Education increased special education funding by 2.8% last year, advocates note this barely keeps pace with inflation and growing enrollment. Meanwhile, the costs of professional assessments—often required for students to access supports—can run families $2,500 or more, creating an equity gap where only those with means can access proper identification and services.
Walking through the bustling hallways of J.H. Picard School last Tuesday, I noticed the dedicated staff clearly trying their best with limited resources. Educational assistant Tanya Moreau described the impossible juggling act.
“I support three different classrooms with six identified high-needs students. Sometimes I feel like I’m just putting out fires rather than providing consistent support,” she explains. “Everyone wants these kids to succeed, but we’re stretched impossibly thin.”
Parents like Wei Chen, whose son has dyslexia, describe feeling abandoned by the system. “After three years of asking for help, we finally paid privately for assessment and tutoring. It’s made all the difference, but that option isn’t available to everyone. What happens to those families?”
It’s a question that haunts Edmonton’s educational landscape. With waiting lists for assessments often exceeding 18 months within the public system, families without financial resources find themselves in educational limbo, watching their children fall further behind.
Edmonton Public School Board Trustee Saadiq Sumar acknowledges the challenges but points to funding constraints. “We’re doing our best with limited resources. The provincial funding model simply doesn’t reflect the true costs of supporting diverse learners in mainstream classrooms.”
