A Nova Scotia parent says a shortage of educational program assistants (EPA) at her son’s school means he hasn’t been able to attend school full time, and it’s unclear when he might be able to do so.
Trinity Gosby’s son, Zane, is in Grade 3 at Dartmouth South Academy and loves attending classes.
However, he’s only been able to attend for partial days since the school year began on Sept. 3.
“He’s not able to go on field trips, he’s not able to join other classmates, he’s not learning, he is not included and it’s actually really upsetting,” said Gosby.
Zane has autism and a tendency to run or wander away, so Gosby says he requires an EPA at all times for safety reasons.
The family moved over the summer and changed schools. Gosby says she was told four days before classes began that Zane wouldn’t be able to join the other students on the first day of the year because there wasn’t an EPA available.
Since then, Zane has been able to attend school in the morning by sharing an EPA with another student, but there’s no further update beyond that.
“So full days are still a no. An EPA for him is still a no and him actually legitimately starting school is still no,” said Gosby.
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She says she’s reached out to other schools in the Dartmouth area to see if she can enroll her son there, but has met the same roadblocks.
“They don’t have room either. They don’t have the support, the staff. They don’t have it. So it’s all schools,” she said.
Since posting about her experience and frustrations online, Gosby says she’s heard from other families who are going through the same struggle this year.
Shelley McNeil, president of CUPE Local 5047, which represents EPAs, says she’s heard similar concerns from members.
“To me, this inclusion policy program is turning into exclusion because there are not enough staff to support the students in our schools across not only (Halifax Regional Centre for Education), but across the province,” said McNeil.
She adds that there is a “large” list of substitute EPAs she feels schools should be able to draw from, but they are underutilized.
“We’re working with the skeleton crew in my opinion,” said McNeil.
“There is not a lack of work. What it is is a lack of understanding of the importance (of having) the appropriate staffing levels in our schools. And that’s why it’s affecting these students, these students that are not being able to attend school on a daily basis.”
Lindsey Bunin, a spokesperson for HRCE, says staffing and supports are allocated based on student needs and reviewed throughout the year as needs and circumstances change.
“In some circumstances, a school and family may work together on a temporary transition plan while appropriate supports are being put in place,” Bunin wrote in an email.
“Those decisions are individualized and are not intended to be a long-term substitute for full participation in school.”
She adds the centre’s “expectation is that students are supported to attend school” and that it is continuing to recruit staff for a variety of positions.
In a statement, the Department of Education says adaptive schedules are among the strategies used to help students “succeed in a safe, supportive learning environment.”
The province adds it annually invests more than $360 million in staff and supports for inclusive education, and that the three per cent reduction in school staff outlined in the 2026-27 budget “affected administrative positions with no direct impact to the core programs and services in Nova Scotia’s classrooms, including EPAs.”
Meanwhile, Gosby says she feels her son’s human rights are being violated because his schooling has been disrupted, and it’s thrown the family’s lives into chaos.
“Now he’s just all over the place so he’s not sure what’s going on. It’s all brand new,” she said.
“It’s like I have to restart from step one, with him starting school again.”
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