Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC)
1. Ministry Mandate
The Ministry of Education Special Education Advisory Committees (Regulation 464/97) Subsection 57.1(1) of the Education Act requires every district school boar to establish a Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC). Regulation 464/97 requires that each school authority establish a SEAC. The composition and duties of this committee at both district school boards and school authorities are set out in Regulation 464/97, as are most of the procedural matters related to its operation.
The members of the committee include representatives of local associations (defined in the regulation), members of the school board, and Native representatives, and may include additional members who do not belong to any of these groups.
The SEAC’s responsibilities are:
- to make recommendations to the board in respect of any matter affecting the establishment, development, and delivery of special education programs and services for exceptional pupils of the board;
- to participate in the board’s annual review of its special education plan;
- to participate in the board’s annual budget process as it relates to special education;
- to review the financial statements of the board as they relate to special education.
The following are some guidelines (not in the regulation) that school boards may find useful:
- The SEAC seats for representatives of local associations should be used to bring to the committee the perspective of parents of children with a wide range of exceptionalities. Note that the ministry provides school boards with definitions of exceptionalities for use in the identification, placement, and review process. As many as possible of these exceptionalities should be represented on the SEAC.
- Representatives of local associations should be persons who can express the concerns of the parents of the exceptional pupils of the board.
- Representatives of local associations should bring the perspective and resources of a provincial or a national association that is incorporated and that operates throughout Ontario to further the interests of one or more groups of exceptional pupils.
- The representative of the local association nominated by the associations normally the person appointed by the board. As long as the association selects as its representative a member who lives within the jurisdiction of the board, the actual address of the “branch” of the association should not be significant.
- SEAC members (except those appointed to represent Native pupils) must be qualified to vote for members of the board and must be resident within the area of jurisdiction of the board.
To be qualified to vote for school board members, a person must be:
- a Canadian citizen;
- at least 18 years old;
- in the case of a public school board, a public school elector;
- in the case of a separate school board, a separate school elector;
- in the case of a French-language district school board, a person with section 23 Charter rights.
Employees of a school board are not eligible for membership on the SEAC of the board that employs them. However, employees of one school board may be members of the SEAC of another school board, subject to their eligibility to vote for members of the school board that appoints them.
In order to assist the SEACs in making informed recommendations, boards should provide orientation sessions and may arrange for knowledgeable persons to provide in-service training sessions for members during regular SEAC meetings. These in-service training sessions might focus on:
- sections of the Education Act relating to special education;
- regulations regarding special education;
- Ministry of Education memoranda;
- Special Education: A Guide for Educators;
- the board policies regarding special education;
- the board special education plan;
- the roles and responsibilities of the SEAC;
- the funding of special education.
Information about membership on the SEAC, procedures to be followed in the event of vacancies, and other matters relating to SEACs are outlined in Regulation 464/97.
2. Meetings
The Special Education Advisory Committee meets once a month, generally the third Wednesday of each month. Members of the public may attend SEAC meetings. For more details, contact Dufferin-Peel Special Education Department. 905-890-1221.
3. Membership
Membership on the Dufferin-Peel Special Education Advisory Committee Local Associations has included and/or continues to include representation from the following :
Association for Bright Children (ABC)
Autism Society of Ontario (Peel Chapter)
Community Living Mississauga
Easter Seals/March of Dimes Society
Epilepsy Ontario
Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario
LDA Mississauga www.ldapeel.com
LDA North Peel www.ldapeel.com
Peel Parents of Hearing Impaired Children
S. Foster: 416-964-3890
A trustee or alternate representative sits on SEAC. The individual trustee responsible for this committee representation may rotate from year to year. For details on the role of the trustee on SEAC, please contact your local trustee.
When searching for community supports, parents may find the Community Information Database for Peel region a helpful place to start.