GREAT BAY--Member of Parliament Christopher Wever used his contribution to the continuation of the 2026 Budget debate on Friday to renew his call for greater attention to special needs education, proposing that organizations serving special needs students receive greater Government support, including possible tax relief and access to structural subsidies.
Wever said special needs education has been one of the issues he has consistently raised in Parliament and expressed concern that the subject did not feature prominently enough in the presentations made by Government Ministers during the Budget debate.
“I haven't heard much about special needs in any of the presentations,” Wever said toward the conclusion of his first-round questions.
He proposed that Government examine ways to reduce the tax burden on institutions that provide services to special needs students, allowing more of their resources to be reinvested in specialized teachers, support personnel and services.
Wever also raised the possibility of bringing qualifying special needs institutions into a more structured Government subsidy system, noting that Government already provides significant subsidies to other educational institutions.
He urged Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Melissa Gumbs to continue advancing the Special Needs Education Policy and determine how additional financial support can be made available to organizations providing these services.
Wever said the objective should be to “put special needs to the forefront,” rather than have institutions and families continually struggle to secure the resources necessary to provide specialized education and care.
His comments comes against the backdrop of Government's own acknowledgment that Budget 2026 does not contain a single dedicated budget line exclusively for special needs education.
In written responses submitted to Parliament ahead of the Budget debate, ECYS explained that implementation of the Special Needs Education Policy is being financed through a combination of existing operational budgets and externally funded initiatives rather than one identifiable allocation.
Government identified Cg. 100,000 for teacher professional development and capacity building, which includes initiatives supporting inclusive education, and Cg. 212,000 for student care and support services, including screening, assessments, referrals and direct support.
The Ministry also pointed to the Cg. 3.5 million school transportation allocation, which includes transportation for eligible students requiring special education services. However, that amount covers the wider school transportation system and is not exclusively earmarked for special needs students.
There are currently no separate allocations specifically identified in Budget 2026 for the Special Needs Education legislative framework, assistive technology, Individualised Education Plans or the development of the special needs funding framework. Those components are being pursued using existing resources and broader projects.
Students Still Awaiting Services and Placement
Government's written Budget responses also provided a snapshot of the demand for special needs services.
At the time the responses were prepared, ECYS reported that no students were waiting for a special education assessment through the Student Support Services Division, as all referred students for whom parental consent had been received had been assessed.
However, 21 students were awaiting the commencement or continuation of direct support services, while another six newly registered students were awaiting placement at Prins Willem Alexander School, St. Maarten's public special education school.
The Student Support Services Division currently provides psychological services, counselling, speech and language services, educational assessments, social work and referrals, among other forms of multidisciplinary support.
For the 2026-2027 school year, the Division of Public Education has also identified a need for one additional special education teacher and two additional teacher assistants.
Educational Care Centre Still in Development
Another major component of Government's Special Needs Education strategy is the proposed Educational Care Centre, which is intended to provide specialized educational, behavioral and multidisciplinary support for students whose needs cannot adequately be addressed within a regular school environment.
The Ministry has clarified that the Educational Care Centre is separate from Prins Willem Alexander School. The centre is planned for the reconstructed Charles Leopold Bell School and is being developed through the Fostering Resilient Learning Project, implemented by the National Recovery Program Bureau and financed through the St. Maarten Trust Fund.
Program content has been completed, architectural drawings have been approved and construction procurement has advanced to the bid-evaluation stage.
The Educational Care Centre is not yet operational and will require completion of construction as well as staffing, regulatory and operational arrangements before services can begin.
ECYS is also developing a web-based training platform to strengthen educators' ability to work with students requiring additional support. Areas identified include differentiated instruction, behavioral management, Individualised Education Plans and other inclusive education approaches.
Government has acknowledged that full implementation of its Special Needs Education ambitions may require additional funding and that certain components may have to be introduced in phases depending on available financial and human resources.
Wever's intervention therefore places renewed attention on how much of that support should come directly from Government and whether private and nonprofit institutions already working with special needs students should receive financial incentives or structural assistance.
For the MP, the issue is ultimately whether St. Maarten's education system is prepared to provide the same level of commitment to children requiring specialized assistance as it does to the wider education system.
He urged Government to ensure that the ongoing policy work results in tangible funding and support for the institutions, professionals, students and families who depend on special needs services.
