Third Party Payment for In-Classroom Student Support Procedure

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Required in-school and in-classroom personal support workers and professional services for students are provided as part of the Board’s duties and responsibilities for the delivery of education in Durham, subject to the identification, assessment and eligibility process and Ministry funding.

The major responsibility of the Board is to provide an appropriate educational program for its students throughout the school year.

The Board accepts its role in the provision of in-school and in-classroom personal support workers and professional services within the following framework:

1. The Board does not allow individual parents to privately purchase in- school or in-classroom student 
   assistance, including personal support workers or in-school professional services.
2. The Board does not allow third parties, including organizations, to purchase in-school professional services (e.g. Speech & Language, tutoring or physiotherapy) or lunchroom supervisors.
3. The Board does actively work with certain community agencies with respect to the provision of in-school and in-classroom personal support and professional services (e.g. Children’s Aid Society; Durham Access to Care).
4. Where parental consent has been given, schools shall permit third party service providers providing service to the student to observe the student in the classroom environment for the purpose of consultation with the school principal, provided that such observation and manner of observation is approved by the superintendent and principal, in his/her/their sole discretion and is neither disruptive nor detrimental to the education of students in the class and provided that the third party consultant has signed any confidentiality agreement/undertaking required by the school.
5. A Principal has the discretion to approve and direct in-school and in- classroom volunteers to assist in the school and classroom under the direction and supervision of the Principal and the classroom teacher.
6. The Board does not allow in-school or in-classroom volunteers to accept payment or other non-monetary benefits from third parties, including individual parents, for volunteer services or duties rendered in, or directly related to, a student(s) in the classroom.
7. The Board recognizes that in limited and temporary rehabilitative circumstances it may be in the interests of the student to employ a personal support worker to provide personal support services at the expense of a third party organization that normally provides such rehabilitative services, for a student who might otherwise not qualify for personal support services at Board expense. 
8. The approval, denial or termination of personal support services at the expense of a third party organization shall at all times be at the sole discretion and direction of the Board.
9. In an instance approved by the Board for the provision of in-school personal support services at third party expense as set out above, the third party shall be responsible only for reimbursing the Board for the actual expenses incurred, including salary and salary-related costs, and related expenditures, including transportation or special services.
10. At all times the Board and its Principal/Vice-Principal delegate, is responsible for the screening, selection, assignment, supervision and direction of the personal support worker.
11. At all times the terms and conditions of employment of the personal support worker shall be at the discretion of the Board and its Principal, and in accordance with applicable statutes and reciprocal obligations.
12. A personal support worker employed as an in-school personal support at the expense of a third party shall have no obligation to the third party, whose only access to personal information about the student shall be at the discretion of the Principal, acting in accordance with the Education Act and the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, as they may be amended from time to time.
13. The Board is at all times responsible for the provision of in-school and in- classroom personal support and professional services to students, and retains the sole and absolute discretion to terminate third party reimbursement arrangements, in-school and in-classroom personal support services, and volunteer services of any kind.

Approval of and arrangements for an in-school and in-classroom personal support worker at third party expense, in accordance with the foregoing, requires that the following process take place:

1. Where a school is contacted by a third party that is an organization that normally provides rehabilitative services to an individual, the school shall refer the inquiry to the Administrative Officer/Area.
2. Upon notification by the school, or contact by the appropriate third party, the Administrative Officer/Area shall obtain all necessary information about the student and contact information of the insurer or other organization.
3. The Administrative Officer/Area shall notify the Manager of Employee Relations/Services, who shall ascertain, in consultation with the Administrative Officer, the nature and anticipated duration of the in-school and/or in-classroom personal support assistance requested, and the reasons therefore.
4. The Manager of Employee Relations/Services and/or Administrative Officer shall provide all available 
   information to the appropriate Superintendent of Education/Area, who shall have the sole discretion to 
   approve or deny the request.
5. If a request for a personal support worker at the expense of a third party is denied, the Administrative 
   Officer/Area shall notify the third party interest of the Board’s decision as soon as possible.
6. If a request for a personal support worker at the expense of a third party is approved, the Manager of 
   Employee Relations/Services, or designate, shall contact the Manager of Business and Financial Services to ascertain anticipated salary, salary-related, transportation and other costs. Upon notification from the Manager of Employee Relations/Services, the Manager of Business and Financial Services shall arrange the necessary accounting process for invoicing, collecting and tracking costs and receiving payments in accordance with the terms and conditions set out.
7. Upon receipt of the necessary financial and accounting information, the Manager of Employee 
   Relations/Services shall notify the third party interest in writing of the terms and conditions, including 
   anticipated hourly rate and related costs of the personal support worker and any other anticipated cost(s), of the service(s) to be provided to the student, and shall seek a signed commitment from the third party before arranging the placement of an employee for that purpose. The commitment and general terms and conditions of placement shall be according to the form attached to this Procedure as Appendix “A”, as may be modified in the sole discretion of the Board to suit the particular circumstances of the request and approval.
8. Once a request for a personal support worker at the expense of a third party is approved, and the necessary Commitment for Payment Letter has been signed by the third party and received by the Manager of Employee Relations/Services, s/he shall make the necessary arrangements for a qualified Board employee to be assigned to the school and to the student. This arrangement is subject to cancellation/termination at any time by and at the sole discretion of the Principal and the Superintendent of Education/Area.