Alberta Education Coding Procedures

All Alberta schools are provided with a basic education grant to provide for the needs of each of the registered students at that particular site. However, the need for special education may be determined at any time. The process of identifying such need focuses on the impact of the student’s functioning in an educational environment. In order to access additional funds over and above the basic grant, additional documentation must be provided to Alberta Education by a school district to account for the allocation of these funds. At times, a student’s needs warrant designation to a specific code by Alberta Education. These codes delineate individual levels of support to best serve exceptional learners. Each category is given a code for the purpose of reporting special education data to Alberta Education. There are two categories of special education codes: mild/moderate and severe. A student must meet the Alberta Education criteria in order to be assigned a special education code in either category.

This is accomplished through:

• significant observation and data collection within the classroom setting
• specialized assessments
• an individualized program plan (IPP) with the involvement of the parent(s) and school personnel
• an annual review of functioning, programming and progress

While children may meet criteria for coding, the decision to proceed with a coding application is ultimately that of the parent, in consultation with school personnel.

Some students do not meet the criteria for special education coding but may still benefit from special education programming. They are not assigned an Alberta Education Special Education code.

Adapted from Special Education Coding Criteria 2008-2009

For more information, read the complete Special Education Coding Criteria document on Alberta Educations' website.