The top school board official in the province defended the system and its programming for deaf and hard-of-hearing children today at the Human Rights Inquiry.
The Human Rights Commission is examining a complaint by Kim and Todd Churchill that their son, Carter, did not receive an adequate education while at Beachy Cove Elementary.
The Churchill’s lawyer, Kyle Rees, questioned Board CEO Tony Stack on how Carter’s education could be considered adequate when an instructor in American Sign Language was found to be incapable of finger-signing their name. Stack explained that an evaluation and testing process had not been in place at the time.
Stack acknowledged that, in hindsight, the board could have done better but that it did the best it could with the resources it had at the time. Rees did not accept the “hindsight” argument.
Stack says he was not aware of any issues with Carter Churchill until after the family filed the human rights complaint.