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Guidelines for Level II and III Support

Categorical Support is available for students with special needs who require and receive extensive supports based on a comprehensive educational needs assessment.

Definitions of conditions considered for Level II and Level III Support are provided on the following pages to assist school divisions/districts in selecting students for funding applications. The Program and Student Services Branch will determine final eligibility in consultation with school division personnel.

The school requesting Level II or Level III support for students with special needs will complete an application form. The completed application is forwarded by school division/district administration to the Funding Review Team, Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth.

Funding Review Team
204-1181 Portage Avenue
Winnipeg MB R3G 0T3

Telephone: (204) 945-6064
Fax: (204) 945-1254

Level II Support - $8,955 per student

Funding eligibility criteria for Level II support are based on the student's need for individualized instruction for a major part of the school day.

Students with the following conditions are considered for Level II Support

Severe multiple-disabilities: The student has a combination of two or more severe disabilities that produce severe multiple developmental, behavioural, and/or learning difficulties. The student may have a severe cognitive disability compounded by a physical disability so severe that he or she requires adaptations and modifications beyond the usual education programming provided for students with moderate special needs. If not cognitively disabled, the student may display two or more severe physical disabilities and consequently requires intensive assistance and/or individualized supervision.  This is a link to the annotated descriptor.

Severely psychotic: This diagnostic category includes students with severe thought disorders and associated inappropriate behaviours that are beyond control and that do not appear to be caused by inappropriate school expectations. The severely psychotic student displays highly inappropriate school behaviour that is both chronic and excessive and may necessitate his or her removal from the regular classroom and placement in a specialized, highly intensive therapeutic setting.

Moderate Autism Spectrum Disorder: The student has a diagnosis of an ASD that is expressed in significant difficulties with social interaction, verbal and non-verbal communication, and a narrow pre-occupation with a fixed range of interests and activities. Secondarily, the student may have a significant cognitive disability or delays in adaptive skill development and require assistance with activities of daily living during the school day. The student also demonstrates persistent patterns of behaviour that interfere with his/her ability to learn. The student requires specific adaptations and instruction for a major portion of the school day.  This is a link to the annotated descriptor.

Deaf or hard of hearing: The student is confirmed to be Deaf or hard of hearing based on a comprehensive assessment administered by a qualified specialist (audiologist, Teacher or Consultant of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and/or speech-language pathologist). Due to a hearing loss that has significantly affected the development of speech and/or language, the student requires major programming modifications to participate effectively and benefit from instruction in the educational setting.   This is a link to the annotated descriptor.

Severely visually impaired: The student's vision is impaired to the degree that extensive adaptations to the learning environment are necessary, specifically to print medium. Individualized programming is required. This may include direct instruction in Braille and Orientation and Mobility.  This is a link to the annotated descriptor.

Very severely emotionally/behaviourally disordered: The student exhibits very severe emotional/behavioural disorders, characterized by inappropriate or disproportionate emotional and behavioural responses to various life situations. The student requires individualized programming and supports with ongoing formal interagency involvement.  This is a link to the annotated descriptor.

Other special conditions can be considered.

Level III Support - $19,920 per student

Funding eligibility criteria for Level III Support are based on the student's need for individualized instruction for the entire school day, additional specialized supports provided by the school division/district, and programming requirements significantly beyond those established for Level II Support.

Students with the following conditions are considered for Level III Support:

Profound multiple-disability: The student has a combination of extremely severe disabilities that produce profound multiple developmental, behavioural, and/or learning difficulties. Consequently, the student requires continuous individualized attention and instruction, as well as extensive additional supports.  This is a link to the annotated descriptor.

Severe to Profound Autism Spectrum Disorder: The student has a diagnosis of an ASD that is expressed in severe and pervasive difficulties in social interaction, verbal and non-verbal communication, and a narrow range of interests, activities, and behaviours. In addition, the student has a significant cognitive disability with corresponding delays in adaptive skill development. Secondarily, the student may also experience severe difficulty with managing change in daily routines and activities; severe reactions to sensory stimuli; and a persistent pattern of behaviours that are dangerous to him/her self or others. Consequently, the student requires highly individualized programming for the entire school day. This is a link to the annotated descriptor.

Deaf: The student is Deaf or has a hearing loss that affects communication so profoundly that he or she requires appropriate, full-time, individualized planning and support to participate effectively and benefit from instruction in the educational setting. This is a link to the annotated descriptor.

Blind: The student's vision is impaired to the degree that the primary learning mode is not visual. This necessitates extensive adaptations to the learning environment and highly individualized planning and support. Students require on-going direct instruction in Braille and Orientation and Mobility. This is a link to the annotated descriptor.

Profoundly emotionally/behaviourally disordered: The student exhibits profound emotional/behavioural disorders and associated learning difficulties requiring highly individualized programming and intensive support services at school and in the community. This applies to the student:

• who is a danger to self and/or to others and whose actions are marked by impulsive, aggressive, and violent behaviour
• whose behaviour is chronic -- the disorder persists over a lengthy period of time
• whose behaviour is pervasive and consistent -- the disorder negatively affects all environments, including home, school, and community
• who requires or receives a combination of statutory and non-statutory services from Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth, Family Services and Housing, Health, and/or Justice as defined within the Child and Family Services Act, the Mental Health Act, and the Young Offenders Act

Multi-system Submission for Students with Profound Emotional/Behavioural Disorders

Coordinated Multisystem Plans, also known as Circle of Care Treatment Plans, must accompany applications for Level 3 EBD funding support. Students with Profound Emotional/Behavioural Disorders require these coordinated multisystem plans to address their profound emotional and behavioural needs. Schools develop these plans in partnership with the parent(s) or legal guardian(s), and an outside agency (e.g., Family Services and Housing, Mental Health, Youth Corrections) that is providing extensive mandated services to the student and family. These plans address the need for 24 hour coordinated services.

Eligibility for funding is based on the severity of the emotional/behavioural disorder, the extent of involvement by the school and outside agency (agencies), and the development of a Coordinated Multisystem Plan based on common shared service goals. A multisystem committee with representatives from Education, Citizenship and Youth, Family Services and Housing, Health, and Justice evaluate the Coordinated Multisystem Plans and make final recommendations for funding to the Program and Student Services Branch.

The following must be included in a Coordinated Multisystem Plan (Circle of Care Treatment Plan):

1. Identifying Data

This includes:

• student's name and student number
• birth date
• gender
• parents/guardians (please identify if these are extended family members, foster parents, or group home supervisors)
• school division/district, school and grade
• agencies and personnel involved (Family Services and Housing, Health, and/or Justice)
• legal status (permanent ward, temporary ward, voluntary placement, court pending, living with parents)
2. Description of Concerning Emotional/Behavioural Problems

Specify the student's behavioural/emotional problems, how they endanger self/others, their persistence over time, and their pervasiveness in the student's environments at home, at school, and in the community.

3. Development and Function of Student's Emotional/Behavioural Problems

In this section the multisystem team details the developmental context in which the child learned the current emotional/behavioural coping style. The team summarizes those relevant events, including experiences with caregivers, family dynamics, trauma, and any significant occurrences that may account for the student's present coping style and the factors that maintain and drive present behaviours.

4. Diagnostic Information

Summarize formal diagnostic information completed to date by school clinicians, social services and health personnel, identifying critical factors to be considered in developing the multisystem (Circle of Care) plan. Information related only to school planning is provided in the Individual Education Plan (IEP).

5. Summary of School Performance

This information should be provided in the student's IEP.

The purpose for sections 6, 7 and 8 is to outline the multisystem service plan for addressing the student's personal, learning, and adjustment problems. The plan should detail shared service goals and describe specific interventions delivered in a coordinated manner by each of the collaborating partners

6. Identification of Treatment/Educational Goals

The purpose of this section is to identify Shared Service Goals that will coordinate the implementation of the Multisystem Service Plan to address the student's critical social learning and personal needs and the system's safety needs.

7. Proposed Multi-System Education/Treatment Plan

Specify the service plan developed by the multisystem team to address the shared service goals. Include specific strategies that will be implemented in each of the child's living/learning environments and identify the services provided to support the child and caregivers by each member of the team.

8. Case Management Process
   • Identify the team members for the school and each of the other service systems involved.
   • Identify services provided by each of the service systems to implement the multi-system education/treatment plan.
   • Identify the case manager for both the school and other service systems.
   • Outline how the services provided by the multisystem team will be coordinated and evaluated.
9. Implementation Costs

Detail the school division/district costs of implementing the school component of the multisystem education/treatment plan.

10. Signatures of Case Managers

Unified Referral and Intake System (URIS) Group A Healthcare Procedures:

URIS funding is available for students who require one or more of the following complex medical procedures that must be performed by a registered nurse:

• ventilator care
• tracheostomy care
• suctioning (tracheal/pharyngeal)
• nasogastric tube care and/or feeding
• complex administration (e.g., via infusion pump, nasogastric tube, injection other than Epipen or equivalent)
• central or peripheral venous line interventions
• other clinical interventions

School divisions/districts are required to submit an application for children requiring Group A healthcare procedures to:

Unified Referral and Intake System Committee
c/o Marilyn Taylor
Student Services Unit
Program and Student Services Branch
204-1181 Portage Avenue
Winnipeg MB R3G 0T3

Telephone: (204) 945-7921
Fax: (204) 945-1254

The required documentation to be submitted in the application process is:

• Special Needs Categorical Grant Level III Funding Application
• URIS Application Form (5.2)
• Individual Health Care Plan

Please refer to section 4 of the URIS Policy and Procedure Manual for further assistance when submitting an application.