The Atlantic Provinces Special Education Authority (APSEA) is an interprovincial cooperative agency established in 1975 by joint agreement among the Ministers of Education of New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.
The APSEA is authorized to provide educational services, programs, and opportunities for persons from birth to 21 years of age with low incidence sensory impairments. This includes children and youth who are deaf, hard of hearing, deafblind, blind, or visually impaired, who are residents of Atlantic Canada.
The APSEA is run by the Board of Directors, under Section 5 (2) of the Act. The Province is entitled to appoint the Deputy Minister responsible for education, as well as two persons appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
Persons appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council to the Atlantic Provinces Special Education Authority should collectively possess the core competencies in the following areas:
Key personal attributes required of members include:
Members of the APSEA should be available to meet as required in accordance with its mandate. Typically, the members meet four times a year in Halifax or through teleconference with additional meetings associated with committee functions. Members will also be expected to spend additional time to prepare for meetings.
In accordance with Section 5(3) of the Atlantic Provinces Special Education Authority Act the term of office of each member appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council shall be set out in the appointment of the member and shall be for a period not in excess of two years and no member may be appointed for more than two consecutive terms.
