Government of Canada invites Applicants for High-Cost Special Education Program

Deadline: 15 May 2019

The Government of Canada is seeking proposals for its High-Cost Special Education Program (HCSEP) to provide additional investments to recipients who provide services for students who ordinarily live on reserve and whose special education needs cannot be met within the current resources that are made available for the general student population.

Indigenous Services Canada (ISC)’s High-Cost Special Education Program helps eligible First Nations students with high-cost special needs to access quality programs and services that are culturally sensitive and reflective of generally accepted provincial or territorial standards.

The objective of the HCSEP is to improve the educational achievement levels of First Nations students on reserve by providing for access to special education programs and services that are culturally sensitive and meet the provincial standards in the locality of the First Nations. The program works to enable students with high-cost special education needs to achieve their fullest potential, as well as increase the number of special needs students acquiring a high school diploma or a certificate of completion.

Expected Results

The expected results of this program are:

An increased number of high-cost special education students have acquired a high school diploma or a certificate of completion
High-cost special needs students are provided with support services as identified in their IEPs

Recognizing that students with high-cost special education needs may not achieve the same academic objectives as students without high-cost special education needs, the goals set out in students IEPs are a measure of a student’s ability to meet or exceed their educational goals, demonstrating progression towards a high school diploma or a certificate of completion.

Funding Information

The maximum amount payable for the purposes of the supplementary allocation of High-Cost Special Education Program is $115 million.
The maximum amount payable per student per year will not exceed $155,000 and will depend on availability of funding and on high-cost special education needs defined in each student IEP.

Eligible Recipients

Eligible recipients of the HCSEP funding are service providers such as:
- First Nations and First Nations entities
- First Nations-mandated organizations designated by First Nations as service providers including:
  - not-for-profit organizations
  - for-profit organizations
  - private education institutions and organizations designated to deliver childhood education programming to eligible students ordinarily living on reserve
- provincial ministries of education
- provincial school board or school board-like entity
- federal schools
- national First Nations representative organizations
- funding agreement managers and recipient appointed advisors (in accordance with ISC Default Prevention and Management Policy)
- not-for-profit and for-profit organizations
- First Nations schools established in the Yukon or in the Northwest Territories
For-Profit organizations, such as academic institutions, may be eligible for funding provided that the nature and intent of the activity:
- is non-commercial
- is not intended to generate profit
- supports program priorities and objectives
- will be publically available at no cost