Part 3: Regional Collaborative Service Delivery (RSCD) Funding prior 2019:
How specialized education services were provided prior to the UCP in 2020
Benefits, UCP Cuts, and the Shift to School Board Funding
The Regional Collaborative Service Delivery (RSCD) program was a key component of Alberta’s pre-2020 education funding model, facilitating partnerships between Alberta Health Services (AHS) and school authorities to deliver specialized health and rehabilitation supports directly in schools. These services targeted students with disabilities or complex needs, providing therapies such as occupational therapy (OT), speech-language pathology (SLP), physiotherapy (PT), and behavioral interventions. RSCD funding, administered through AHS, was part of a broader inclusive education framework that emphasized integrated, needs-based support.
In 2020, the United Conservative Party (UCP) government overhauled the K-12 funding model, effectively cutting RSCD allocations and reallocating resources to a new Specialized Learning Supports (SLS) grant under Alberta Education. This shift moved supports from health-system partnerships to direct funding for public school boards, aiming for greater administrative efficiency but drawing criticism for reducing service intensity and creating gaps in delivery. Below, I outline the benefits of the RSCD model, the reasons for the UCP’s changes, and the implications of the replacement.
Benefits of RSCD Funding Through AHS
RSCD operated from 2008 to 2020 as a collaborative model where AHS provided therapists and clinicians to schools, funded through provincial health grants. This integration allowed for seamless, school-embedded supports, benefiting students, families, and educators in several ways:
Overall, RSCD exemplified a “no wrong door” system, in which health and education collaborated to meet child development goals, contributing to Alberta’s strong pre-2020 rankings in inclusive education.
Why Did the UCP Cut RSCD Funding?
The UCP’s 2019 - 2020 funding overhaul was framed as a response to fiscal pressures and system inefficiencies. However, critics, including the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) and Inclusion Alberta, argue it was part of broader austerity measures that prioritized tax cuts over public services. Key reasons cited by the government include:
Fiscal Restraint and Deficit Reduction: Facing a 2019 oil price crash and projected $12.6 billion deficit, the UCP cut ~$162 million from overall K-12 operational funding in 2020-21, including RSCD’s ~$50-60 million annual allocation. Premier Jason Kenney described it as “tough choices” to balance the budget without raising taxes, emphasizing corporate tax reductions (from 12% to 8%) to attract investment.
Administrative Simplification: The government argued RSCD’s AHS-school partnerships created “bureaucratic overlap” and inconsistent delivery across regions. Alberta Education consultations (pre-2020) from school authorities highlighted delays in AHS staffing due to health priorities (e.g., during COVID-19). The shift aimed to “streamline” services by centralizing them under one ministry.
Focus on Education Outcomes: UCP rhetoric stressed tying funds to “classroom dollars” and performance metrics, viewing RSCD as too health-oriented. Minister Demetrios Nicolaides (2023) noted the model “outspent other provinces” without proportional student gains, to justify cutting the funding so that they could work on aligning with the UCP’s push for job-aligned education, which is why they are creating collegiate schools where students take trades training.
However, the ATA and advocates contested these claims, revealing via FOIP requests that the cuts amounted to a net $136 million reduction in base education funding for 2020-21, contradicting UCP statements of “maintenance.” Critics linked it to ideological priorities, like sparing faith-based institutions (Private/Independent schools) from cuts while targeting public support.
Replacement with Separate Funding for Public School Boards: The SLS Grant
RSCD was replaced by the Specialized Learning Supports (SLS) grant, a pooled, per-student allocation under Alberta Education’s new 2020 model. Funds go directly to public school boards (e.g., CBE, Edmonton Public Schools) for flexible use, including hiring aides or contracting therapists. Key elements:
The UCP positioned SLS as an improvement for “predictability” and “driving dollars to classrooms,” with school boards requesting the shift during consultations to reduce AHS dependencies. For example, CBE used transition funds to maintain some services, avoiding immediate layoffs.
Criticisms and Outcomes of the Change
While the government claims SLS enhances flexibility, stakeholders report drawbacks:
Service Reductions: Per-student funding dropped approximately 70% for severe kindergarten needs (from about $25,000 under RSCD-linked PUF to $7,500), leading to fewer therapy hours and program cuts. AHS refocused on community health, ending school partnerships amid COVID-19 strains.
Implementation Gaps: Boards face backlogs in hiring specialists; rural areas lost AHS expertise, exacerbating inequities.
Broader Context: Part of UCP’s $500M + PSE/K-12 cuts (2019-2023), contrasted with boosts for charter/private schools (they got approximately $25M in 2022). By 2024-25, education funding rose 4.4% to $8.7B, but inflation/enrolment growth outpaced it, per ATA analysis.
In summary, RSCD’s health-education synergy offered robust, integrated supports, but UCP cuts prioritized fiscal “efficiencies” and education-centric models, replacing it with SLS for school board autonomy. While intended to simplify, the transition has been criticized for underfunding critical therapies, with ongoing advocacy for restoration. Rural school districts fared worse than those in larger centers because there were not as many support professionals working out of District offices. For details, see Alberta Education’s Funding Manual or contact Inclusion Alberta.
https://carcsd.ca/
Alberta does NOT have training programs for specialized teachers such as teachers of the hard of hearing or deaf, teachers of the visually impaired and blind or educational audiology. So those districts with students requiring these services needed a place to access these specialist. Low incidence kids needing professions that are scarce. It doesn’t happen without over arching organization. Horrible to watch, know the potential of the students is lost to lack of access.
As a specialist prior to 2019 I am appalled by the changes from the RSVD model to the current SPS model.
As a Special Needs Director it took a lot of work to meet the special needs of all of our students. In alliance with the Health Initiative we were able to coordinate speech and language pathologists, herd of hearing and vision specialists , OT and PT specialists, technology specialists and counsellors/ psychologists.
We also had a team of highly qualified special education teachers to help out with coordination and management with parents and teachers, and EA training and suggestions. We were also funded through PUF funding at higher levels to provide supports for preschool and Kindergarten students up to six years of age. This supported the research that indicated the earlier the intervention could be made the better the general results were found to be with these students in later years. All students with mild-moderate needs also received funding from the government at that time and higher levels of funding for all severe needs from grades one to 12.
Thie RSVD model was a much better system that respected the needs of all of students with disabilities.
The new system in my opinion was a money grab vs any caring about the research or our students. There is little access to the specialist model that served so many of our students without prolonged waiting or higher parent expenses !
I will also add that I have never worked with a more devoted and hard working group of specialists and teachers. I too see the same thing in our educators today except they have such limited supports they can't cope‼️