Page 99 - Special Education in Ontario, Kindergarten to Grade 12: Policy and Resource Guide

Draft Part C: Early Identification, Assessment, and Transition Planning
may have been provided during the transition-planning process. If so, the ongoing transition-planning process provides an opportunity to review this information with the student.
Transition to School Following a Prolonged Medical Absence
When a student is ready to return to school after a long medical absence, advance preparation with staff and other students could be helpful in enhancing awareness of and sensitivity to the student’s needs, depending on the student’s medical condition. It is essential to discuss the transition with parents and, after proper consent is obtained, with medical personnel who have been involved with the student. In addition, organizations that support persons with specific medical conditions may be able to provide useful in-service training for teachers and other school staff.
The following strategies may be helpful in meeting the needs of the student making the transition to school:
• Arrange for remedial sessions for the student after initial assessments of the student’s level of functioning are completed.
• Set up a buddy system to ease the student’s adjustment to school life.
• Shorten the school day, at least initially, for the benefit of the student. Such
a strategy may be helpful in some cases where endurance is a problem. This option should be exercised only when it is in the student’s best interest to do so.
Transitions to and/or from Educational Programs in Care and/or Treatment, Custody, and Correctional (CTCC) Facilities
For students who are transitioning to and/or from CTCC educational programs, school board and facility staff should make every effort to ensure that these students receive continuous programs and services
with a minimum of disruption. At each stage, transition plans are to be developed and monitored by the students’ teams, which may include but are not limited to parents, students (where appropriate), educators, facility staff, and community service partners, to address the students’ strengths, interests, and needs and to support a seamless transition into and/or out of
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