Teachers won't be conducting learning disability assessments after all, minister says

P.E.I.'s education minister says Island teachers with some psychology training will notbe conducting student assessments.

In October, in his first week as the province's new education minister, Jordan Brown saidgovernment was considering providing teachers with additional training in an effort to shorten the 3.25-year waitfor the some 435 students waiting forschool psychology assessments.

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However,in response to a question raised by education critic Steven Myersin legislature on Friday,Brown said the P.E.I. Psychologists Registration Board told governmentonly clinical psychologists can assess the students.

"We have met with the college that regulates psychologists on Prince Edward Island and they have indicated that there's a certain test that needs to be taken to have the skill to do these assessments," Brown said.

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"And that only clinical psychologists on Prince EdwardIsland are able to do that."

According to Brown, he's been assured by Dr. Phillip Smith, of the registration board, that government is"doing everything that we possibly can do within the envelope of resources that we have right now."

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