Ombudsman calls for more transparency in education costs

FRIDAY, JULY 22: Government watchdogs are to review education for special needs students — the first time Ombudsman Arlene Brock has recommended such a move.

Ms Brock asked for the probe after she found the Education Ministry had withheld funding for a special needs student to be educated overseas without fully investigating the case.

The Ombudsman said: “Information regarding the cost of providing a suitable education in Bermuda for this unique special needs student had not been calculated.

Compliance

“Therefore, the Minister did not have full information for his original determination of the amount of assistance provided by Education.

“We recommended that Education should provide to the Minister more robust and accurate information about the costs of providing a suitable education for the unique special needs of this child.”

“Further, this investigation pointed to a critical need for Education to establish a clear policy and programmes for special needs students to ensure compliance with both the Education Act and the National Policy on Disabilities.

“We recommended that Education request the Department of Internal Audit to conduct a thorough evaluation of its strategies to determine the most effective and realistic services for all categories of special needs students.”

The Ombudsman started an investigation after the child’s mother complained to the Ombudsman that the Education Ministry and the Psycho-Educational Committee of the Department of Child and Family Services had failed to provide adequate education in Bermuda, so should provide tuition overseas.

The mother — identified only as Parent A — claimed that the failure to do so “not only amounted to discrimination but would also doom her child to a lifetime of dependency when it was possible to educate him to become a fully functioning contributor to society.”

The Ombudsman’s investigation involved previous Education Minister Elvin James. He was later replaced by Dame Jennifer Smith.

Ms Brock said the Ombudsman had no powers to look at decisions made by Ministers or Cabinet, but could investigate “administrative actions of officers and employees of departments and other public authorities”.

She added: “Education was very responsive. The previous Minister visited the overseas school.

“Armed with better and full information, the new Minister readily made a decision to substantially increase the subsidy for overseas education for this student.

Apology

“She also initiated a review of the policy for all similarly affected students.

“With respect to the committee, a review of past practice allocations revealed that this is not a realistic source of supplemental funding for students with multiple disabilities who do not demonstrate severe psychological and or emotional needs.

“However, there was a serious gap in the committee’s 2009 policy and procedures manual.

“The public had no information about transparent criteria to determine eligibility for funding.

“The committee itself had no clear guidelines for how to prioritize and allocate scarce resources among eligible students.

“We recommended that the committee first apologize to Parent A for conflicting verbal information. Secondly, the committee should establish written policies and/or fill in the policy gaps.”

Ms Brock’s report added: “While families should certainly contribute to expensive overseas services to the extent that they are able to do so as the coffers of the Bermuda Government are not unlimited, Bermuda should not once again become a place where only people who can afford to pay, or who are the most informed or the most tenacious advocates can educate their children with special needs.

“The country should have an interest in ensuring that all such children receive the training and confidence that will enable them to become functioning, independent, contributing adults.

“We pay now or we pay later.”