B.C. boy denied full-time class due to lack of school assistants [Video]

School is back in session, but one five-year-old boy in Nanaimo, B.C., is still at home waiting to find out when he can attend classes full time.

Daniel Gardner, who is blind and has epilepsy and autism, was set to start kindergarten alongside his peers with the help of an educational assistant (EA). 

But he’s been denied his full-time start to learning after the school district said it was struggling to find qualified EAs.

It’s part of a wider problem of staff shortages in schools across the province, Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools says — but the union representing support staff says the problem lies with poor working conditions for EAs, including lack of work hours, which are either forcing many out of the job or putting off those considering it.  

Daniel’s mom, Ashley Gardner, said she had been working with Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools since January to ensure her son …