The Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board is applauding a provincial announcement of new funding and supports for children with autism.
Education Minister Lisa Thompson announced school boards will get an average of $12,300 for each new student with autism during the transition from therapy to school.
It will also fully subsidize an autism qualification course for teachers.
"We are certainly pleased with the additional professional development to help our frontline staff and that includes the subsidy for the additional qualifications course for the teachers and the availability of additional online training," says Catholic School Board Superintendent Joe Ibrahim.
The funding will apply for the three months remaining in the current 2018-19 school year which Ibrahim says will be used to hire additional staff to support students in their transition and provide additional training.
"We are certainly going to use that to supplement services that we already provide and we always outspend what we have allocated for to ensure all of our students have what they need," says Ibrahim.
In addition to the $27.8-million the catholic board receives from the province in Special Education funding, the board budgets an extra $4.8-million more for that program.
The extra funding will be provided for all 72 school boards in Ontario.