Inclusive Education Categories

There are specific Ministry criteria and documentation requirements that must be met for a child to be categorized as a student with "disabilities or diverse abilities."
The purpose of a "disabilities or diverse abilities" ministry category is not to label a student but rather to ensure that additional resources and support arrangements are made available to meet the student's needs. The specific requirements are outlined in Inclusive Education Services: Category Checklists and can be found on the Ministry of Education website in the Inclusive Education Services Manual. Please refer to these Ministry resources for specific descriptions of each category as well as examples of diagnoses:
Students with a significant level of additional needs and requiring Tier 3 support are assessed and receive a ministry category based on the following BC Ministry of Education, Inclusive Education categories as follows:
Ministry of Education Categories List
Categories A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H are commonly referred to as "low incidence" categories because there is a relatively "low incidence" of students in these categories. Categories K, P, Q and R are referred to as "high Incidence" categories. It is important to recognize that a medical or educational diagnosis does not, in itself, determine the category.
The funding provided by the Ministry is allocated to the school district, which is, in turn, distributed to schools. The Sea to Sky School District allocates these supplemental funds to schools based on the functional needs of the students and their ministry category. This funding is to be used to provide specialized supplemental services to enable students with diverse learning needs to access educational programs. This may come in the form of specialized teachers, programs, resources and/or certified educational assistants. Ministry funding is not attached to specific students.