AODA Alliance
Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance Update
United for a Barrier-Free Ontario for All People with Disabilities
Website: www.aodaalliance.org
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Tragic Death of Vulnerable Student with Disabilities in Trenton High School Last Month Triggers Intense Media Attention and an Emotional Queen’s Park News Conference
June 13, 2024
SUMMARY
The tragic as-yet unexplained death last month of 16-year-old Landyn Ferris while in a “sensory room” at the Trenton High School has sparked significant public and media attention. City TV broke the story on May 30, 2024. The AODA Alliance’s May 31, 2024 news release focused attention on the Ontario Government’s deeply troubling lack of effective oversight of school boards in this area.
On Tuesday, June 4, 2024, the Ontario New Democratic Party held a news conference at Queen’s Park. In addition to NDP MPPs Monique Taylor and Chandra Pasma, AODA Alliance Chair David Lepofsky spoke at this news conference as did the Ontario Autism Coalitions Kate dudley-logue. You can watch this news conference online. We are getting the captions improved to ensure their accuracy as soon as our volunteers can get this done.
There have now been 867 days since the Ford Government received the final report and recommendations of the Government-appointed K-12 Education Standards Development Committee. It recommended major reforms to Ontario’s schools to tear down the many barriers impeding a third of a million students with disabilities. The Landyn Ferris case focuses attention on a specific safety issue which that report addressed, namely the need for provincial standards and oversight of the use of sensory or seclusion rooms in schools. So far, the Ford Government has not implemented any of the K-12 Education Standards Development Committee’s recommendations.
Below are four articles in the recent media on this issue. The media is continuing to investigate this story. We are available to help them at any time.
Send us your feedback. Email us at aodafeedback@gmail.com
Learn more about the AODA Alliance’s campaign to make Ontario schools barrier-free for all students with disabilities by visiting the AODA Alliance website’s education page.
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CBC News May 31, 2024
Originally posted at https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/trenton-student-death-dravet-syndrome-1.7221463
Family pursuing negligence lawsuit after son dies at Trenton high school | CBC News Loaded
Landyn Ferris had seizure disorder, was found unresponsive in a private room on May 14
Jodie Applewaithe CBC
A boy holds a carved jack-o-lantern above his head.
Sixteen-year-old Landyn Ferris died on May 14, 2024, after he was left sleeping unattended in a specialized room at Trenton High School. (Submitted by Josh Nisker)
A Trenton, Ont., family plans to pursue a civil lawsuit over the death of their 16-year-old son after he was allegedly left unattended in a private room at a local high school earlier this month.
Landyn Ferris was a Grade 10 student at Trenton High School who had Dravet syndrome, a rare type of genetic epilepsy that can cause seizures.
On May 14, he’d been sleeping alone inside a sensory room at the school when he was found unresponsive. It’s unclear how long he had been left unattended.
In a statement to CBC, his mother Brenda Davis said she feels “devastated and in the dark without him.”
The family intends to pursue a civil lawsuit for negligence, while the province’s Office of the Chief Coroner investigates the death.
Ontario Provincial Police were initially investigating as well, but spokesperson Bill Dickson said they are no longer involved as there’s no indication of foul play.
Landyn Davis lies in the snow in a green jacket.
Sleeping often triggered Ferris’s seizures, according to the lawyer representing his family. (Submitted by Kate Dudley-Logue)
‘An unspeakable tragedy,’ lawyer says
While the family is still considering the scope of the lawsuit, the school board will be one of the parties named in it, said Josh Nisker, a personal injury lawyer and founding partner at Beyond Law who’s representing them.
Before Ferris died on May 14, his mother had alerted the school that he couldn’t be left alone, Nisker said — especially while sleeping, as that’s a trigger for his seizures.
Davis would sleep in her son’s bedroom each night to ensure he fell asleep and woke up safely, he said.
“We’re currently investigating all potentially responsible parties,” Nisker said. “Ultimately there is an issue here with supervision and attention provided to this child.”
The lawsuit has not yet been filed. Despite the ongoing coroner’s investigation, Nisker said legal action might be the family’s best chance at getting more answers.
“Sometimes it takes a tragedy like this, unfortunately, for positive change to result,” he said. “It’s an unspeakable tragedy.”
In a statement to CBC News, the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board said that “a comprehensive review of procedures and processes is underway,” as would be the case for “any tragic event in our schools.”
The board added it would provide support for students for as long as it’s needed.
More resources, oversight needed: advocates
Ferris’s death should spark further action, said the Ontario Autism Coalition, which has long called on the province to invest more into resources for children with disabilities.
“It’s often hard to blame the educators because our schools are majorly understaffed, under-resourced,” said Kate Dudley-Logue, the coalition’s vice-president of community outreach.
When it comes to sensory rooms, Dudley-Logue said the Ministry of Education does not have a policy on their use. Instead, it’s up to individual school boards to decide how they operate.
Those rooms — which help to calm or engage students in sensory learning — can be beneficial if they’re properly set up and monitored, she said. They should be populated with equipment that encourages physical stimulation, like bean bags, mini-trampolines or rocking chairs.
But children should never be left alone inside them, she emphasized.
David Lepofsky, of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance, says the aides that school boards provide to students with disabilities are a right not a privilege.
David Lepofsky, chair of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance, said the teen boy’s death ‘cries out for strong provincial action.’ (Mike Smee/CBC)
David Lepofsky, chair of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance, said his organization has also been calling on Ontario to develop better policies for accessibility and safety policies for students with disabilities.
He said Ferris’s death “cries out for strong provincial action.”
“We need oversight and we need strong provincial standards,” Lepofsky said.
In a statement, Education Minister Stephen Lecce extended his “deepest condolences” to both family and friends of Ferris and the entire school board community.
“The police and school board have launched an investigation into this incident, and I know all parties will work together to ensure this tragedy does not occur again.”
‘My guiding light’
The Ontario Autism Coalition has been in contact with the family, Dudley-Logue said, initially to help them find legal support.
“All [Davis] really wants at this time is to make sure that she gets the answers that she needs and also to make sure that maybe there’s some meaning here in what happened and that this won’t happen to another child,” she said.
Parents of Ferris’s peers have started a fundraiser to help his family pay for funeral costs. Nisker said Davis is appreciative of the community support.
“He kept me soft-hearted even when I was mad at the world,” she said in her statement to CBC. “I hope I can hold onto that softness and use it as my guiding light.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jodie Applewaithe
Associate Producer
Jodie Applewaithe is an associate producer with CBC Ottawa. You can reach her at jodie.applewaithe@cbc.ca
Richmond News May 31, 2024
Originally posted at https://www.richmond-news.com/ontario-news/unimaginable-tragedy-teen-dies-after-being-found-unresponsive-at-ontario-school-8923456
‘Unimaginable tragedy’: Teen dies after being found unresponsive at Ontario school
The family of an Ontario teen with special needs who died after being found unresponsive at his high school is planning legal action while seeking answers following an “unimaginable tragedy,” their lawyer said Friday.
Rianna Lim, The Canadian Press
Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce says police and the Hasting and Prince Edward District School Board have launched an investigation into the death of a 16-year-old boy with special needs who was allegedly found unresponsive at his high school two weeks ago. Lecce speaks to journalists at the Queen’s Park Legislature in Toronto on Friday August 25, 2023.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
The family of an Ontario teen with special needs who died after being found unresponsive at his high school is planning legal action while seeking answers following an “unimaginable tragedy,” their lawyer said Friday.
Sixteen-year-old Landyn Ferris was found alone and unresponsive in a sensory room at Trenton High School on May 14, said Josh Nisker, who is representing the teen’s family.
Paramedics were called to the scene and tried to resuscitate Ferris, the lawyer said. The boy was then brought to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
“They’re obviously beside themselves,” Nisker said of the family. “It’s an unimaginable tragedy for them to experience.”
Nisker said Ferris had Dravet Syndrome, a form of epilepsy. He said the family has “very little information” about what happened at the school.
“All we know is that he was found at the end of the school day, cold and unresponsive, having been left in that room alone for some time,” he said.
Nisker said Ferris was at risk of seizures while sleeping. He said Brenda Davis, Ferris’s mother, had previously expressed concerns to the school about the teen napping and had asked that he be properly supervised.
He said the family was told that Ferris was put in the room for a nap for an unknown amount of time before he was found.
“His condition and vulnerabilities were known to the school, and the risk of seizure was known to the school,” the lawyer said.
Nisker said the family plans to launch a civil lawsuit against the school board, and seek disclosure of records and policies related to Ferris’s death and care at the school.
In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board said, “the family is grieving, as are students, staff and the greater school community.”
The spokesperson did not comment on the status of a board investigation into the teen’s death, but said “a comprehensive review of procedures and processes is underway.”
Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce called the death “an unspeakable tragedy” and extended his condolences to the family and friends of the student, as well as the entire board community.
“I know all parties will work together to ensure this tragedy does not occur again,” Lecce wrote in a statement.
A spokesperson from the Office of the Chief Coroner confirmed the death is being investigated.
Ferris’s death has sparked calls for action from advocacy groups in Ontario, including the Ontario Autism Coalition. The organization said the teen’s death highlights broader issues in the province’s special education system, including what they called inadequate funding and support.
“We are deeply sorry that this has taken place, but sadly, we are not surprised,” Alina Cameron, president of the coalition, wrote in a statement. “Landyn’s passing is a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities of children with special needs.”
The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance, a disability advocacy group, argued Ferris’s death speaks to the provincial government’s lack of accessibility standards in schools.
“Ontario’s schools, like the rest of our society, are far behind reaching the mandatory goal of becoming accessible to people with disabilities by 2025, the deadline which the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act imposes,” David Lepofsky, chair of the organization, wrote in a statement.
The opposition NDP also called for action.
“We don’t need to wait for the results of the investigation into Landyn’s death to take immediate steps to make children safer at school,” education critic Chandra Pasma wrote in a statement.
Nisker, the family’s lawyer, said the teen’s loved ones are focused on getting answers.
“Ultimately, the family hopes that there could be some positive change that comes from this,” Nisker said. “Unfortunately, it took a tragedy for that change to hopefully materialize.”
City News June 3, 2024
Originally posted at https://toronto.citynews.ca/2024/06/03/advocates-demanding-answers-after-tragic-death-of-boy-16-at-ontario-school/
Advocates demanding answers after tragic death of boy, 16, at Ontario school
Opposition leaders are demanding answers in the death of Landyn Ferris, a student with special needs who was found unresponsive at his high school. As Tina Yazdani reports, they are calling for more special education funding.
By Tina Yazdani
Advocacy groups and political leaders are demanding answers after a 16-year-old student was found unresponsive at an Ontario school.
Landyn Ferris was in Grade 10 at Trenton Public High School. He was pronounced dead after being found in a private room, known as a sensory room, on May
14.
The NDP Critic for Children, Community and Social Services, Monique Taylor, was emotional addressing the tragic incident at Queen’s Park on Monday.
“This is a heartbreaking story that many families fear, of underfunding and understaffing in our public education institutions. Premier, what steps will
your government take so that what happened to Landyn never happens again,” Taylor asked in Question Period.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce said investigations are currently underway.
“The coroner of Ontario and the school board have launched an investigation into this incident, into this tragedy – and I know all parties will work together to ensure this tragedy does not happen again,” said Lecce.
Ferris has a rare type of epilepsy that causes seizures and are often triggered by sleep so he couldn’t be left alone. It’s alleged he was left unattended on the day he was found unresponsive.
Opposition leaders say the Ford government has chronically underfunded the education system and it’s hurting kids with special needs.
“I think the education system sadly failed Landyn,” said Green Party leader Mike Schreiner.
“I’ve been thinking about the families, the many, many families of kids with special needs that have come to Queen’s Park over and over and over again and warned that something terrible is going to happen,” added NDP leader Marit Stiles. “It’s terrible … it makes me really angry.”
Amid the tragic death of Ferris, a new report has found that 46 per cent of high schools across Ontario reported shortages of educational assistants every day, prompting some principals to recommend special needs students stay home altogether.
“That is unacceptable and wrong,” said Schreiner. “The government should step up and properly fund education assistants and support staff in schools.”
Meanwhile, Lecce said they have increased special education funding. “This year, funding is up roughly $170 million more than last year with 3,500 additional EAs hired. I know there’s more work to do and I look forward to doing it together,” Lecce added.
Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie called Lecce’s response “inadequate.”
“This is a minister that should be investing in education. Where are the teachers? Where are the special education teachers?” asked Crombie.
Advocacy group, Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance tells CityNews this incident reinforces the need for provincial oversight of school board.
“There needs to be mandatory enforced provincial rules on when and how these isolation or sensory rooms are used,” said Chair David Lepofsky. “This is just one horrific example of the kind of circumstances that cry out for proper provincial regulation.”
City News Toronto June 4, 2024
Originally posted at https://toronto.citynews.ca/2024/06/04/mother-of-vulnerable-boy-found-unresponsive-in-ontario-school-speaks-out/
Mother of vulnerable boy found dead in Ontario school speaks out
‘I am broken’: Mother of vulnerable boy found unresponsive in Ontario school speaks out
The Ontario NDP and advocates are calling for action to protect vulnerable children, after the death of 16-year-old Landyn Ferris. As Tina Yazdani reports,
an emotional statement was read on his mother’s behalf.
By Tina Yazdani
Heartbreaking words from a mother enduring an unthinkable tragedy were shared as a statement by Brenda Davis was read Tuesday at Queen’s Park.
Her son, Landyn Ferris, was pronounced dead on May 14 after he was found unresponsive in a sensory room at Trenton High School.
“My last memory of Landyn is in a casket, surrounded by his favourite toys. Now I visit his grave every morning. I pick wildflowers for him alone. We used to pick flowers together, but now I leave them at his grave,” reads the statement shared by Kate Logue with the Ontario Autism Coalition.
“I am broken.”
In the statement, Davis urged parents to hold their babies tight. “My boy is gone, his laugh is a memory, his light snuffed out too soon. I will forever be haunted.”
Landyn had a form of epilepsy that causes seizures and is often triggered by sleep, so he couldn’t be left alone. It’s alleged he was left unattended on the day he was found unresponsive.
She described the horror of that day in her statement.
“I walked into the classroom to find my son on a stretcher, receiving CPR, his hand hanging to the side, fingers already blue … That’s when it hit me. This isn’t a seizure intervention. This is resuscitation.”
A coroner’s investigation is now underway. The school board is also investigating.
“We’ll see what the investigation says. It’s unacceptable in my opinion,” said Premier Doug Ford in his first comments on the tragic incident.
“We know nothing at this point so I want to avert the instinct of making assumptions,” added Education Minister Stephen Lecce.
CityNews has also learned that Lecce only became aware of the incident last week after CityNews reached out to him for comment.
Advocates say the Ford government shouldn’t wait for the results of the investigation to take action.
“The overall issue of the vulnerability of these kids and the lack of proper safeguards for them, it demands action,” said Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance Chair David Lepofsky.
CityNews has learned that for two years, the Ministry of Education has not implemented recommendations aimed at setting and enforcing basic requirements for school boards to protect vulnerable students, including policies for the use of isolation or sensory rooms in schools.
“There’s an expectation that all school boards in Ontario have a protocol. They’re expected to follow it,” said Lecce.
Lepofsky said that is not good enough.
“It should not be left to 72 school boards and God knows how many principals and teachers to have to figure out what those safeguards should be.”
There are also calls for more funding for special education.
“A child with a seizure disorder such as Landyn had shouldn’t be left alone at all,” said Logue.
Ontario NDP leader Marit Stiles said there is currently one special education teacher for every 85 high school students in Ontario. “That doesn’t seem like a safe ratio to me.
“I find that shameful. You don’t need a coroner’s inquest to start doing the right thing today and make sure children in our schools have the supports they need,” added Stiles. Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie agreed.
“We can’t ever let this happen again. We need to invest in education. We need more teachers in the classroom.”
Advocates have also called on the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) to also investigate the incident alongside the coroner, rather than just assisting.