For immediate release – November 17, 2025

Inclusion Alberta is deeply concerned that no parent representatives or organizations advocating for families of children with disabilities have been named to the Class Size and Complexity Cabinet Committee. The decisions this committee will make will profoundly affect the lives of students with disabilities and their families and it is essential that their voices and lived experiences are represented and not overshadowed by institutional interests.

In July 2025, the province announced the Aggression and Complexity in Schools Action Team, a 25-member group tasked with addressing classroom challenges. There was no representation on the Action Team of parents or organizations with expertise in disability, mental health, behavioural challenges, or English Language Learners. So far, the appointments to the Class Size and Complexity Cabinet Committee repeat the same exclusionary pattern.

“Government must ensure that those who stand to be most impacted by the decisions related to the challenges in our education system have a central role in generating solutions that are built on research and that do not reinforce stigma and negative stereotypes,” says Trish Bowman, Inclusion Alberta’s CEO. “Just as teachers want a voice in these important discussions, families of children with disabilities need a seat at the decision-making table.”

Government has stated that a new inclusive education policy will be developed to replace the Standards for Special Education, a Ministerial Order regulating how students with disabilities are educated and providing parents with legal avenues to appeal decisions. The government’s expressed interest in exploring the addition of more segregated classrooms for students with disabilities marks a troubling shift away from inclusive education. Research spanning over 45 years, including Alberta’s own experience, has consistently shown that inclusive education leads to better academic and social outcomes for all students—those with and without disabilities.

“Challenges like limited resources or overcrowded classrooms must not be used as excuses to segregate students with disabilities from their peers,” said Troy Hale, Inclusion Alberta’s Treasurer and parent of a student with an intellectual disability. “Every student, including those with intellectual disabilities, has an equal right to learn in their community school, fully included with their classmates.”

Inclusion Alberta calls on the Government of Alberta to immediately:

• Appoint parents and organizations advocating for students with disabilities to all education policy committees.
• Uphold the legal protections for parents to choose inclusive education provided by the current Standards for Special Education.
• Reject any move toward increased segregation and recommit to inclusive education for every child.

Families deserve to be valued partners in shaping their children’s education—not to be excluded from critical decisions.

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Inclusion Alberta Chief Executive Officer Trish Bowman is available for interviews. Please contact Sara Protasow, Inclusion Alberta Communications Coordinator at sprotasow@inclusionalberta.org or 780-906-4693.

About Inclusion Alberta: Inclusion Alberta is a family based, non-profit federation that advocates on behalf of children and adults with intellectual disabilities and their families. Together, we share a dream of meaningful family life and community inclusion for individuals with intellectual disabilities. As an advocacy organization we support families and individuals in their desire to be fully included in community life.