Inclusion and Intervention Plan (IIP) in Saskatchewan: A Parent's Guide

If you've moved to Saskatchewan from another province, or if you've been researching special education rights online, you've probably encountered a lot of information about IEPs — Individual Education Plans. Saskatchewan uses something different. It's called an Inclusion and Intervention Plan (IIP), and while the goal is similar, the terminology, process, and legal context are distinct enough that parents need to understand what they're dealing with.

What Saskatchewan Uses: IIP and PPP

Saskatchewan operates with two main planning documents for students with diverse learning needs:

The Personal Program Plan (PPP) is the older, more established document. It is used for students who are identified as requiring significantly different programming from the standard curriculum — typically students with more complex or significant learning needs.

The Inclusion and Intervention Plan (IIP) is a broader planning tool used for students who need some individualized support but whose needs may not require the more intensive, curriculum-modified programming of a PPP. The IIP reflects Saskatchewan's emphasis on inclusive education and is used for students across the continuum of need.

In practice, many Saskatchewan parents encounter the IIP first, particularly if their child's needs are emerging or not yet fully assessed. The PPP typically comes into play when a student requires significant curriculum modifications or has been formally identified with more complex exceptionalities.

What These Documents Are — and Aren't

Like IEPs in other provinces, Saskatchewan's IIP and PPP are planning tools, not legally binding contracts. They document what supports and programming adjustments will be put in place for a student, but Saskatchewan's Education Act, 1995 does not give parents a direct legal enforcement mechanism if the plan is not followed.

What does give parents leverage is something above the provincial education act: human rights law. Saskatchewan's Saskatchewan Human Rights Code establishes a duty to accommodate students with disabilities, consistent with the national framework set by the Supreme Court of Canada in Moore v. British Columbia (2012). That ruling confirmed that adequate special education is not optional — it is the essential mechanism by which students with disabilities access public education.

This means that if a school is failing to implement your child's IIP or PPP, or refusing to develop one at all, you have potential recourse through the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission — not just through internal board processes.

How the IIP Process Works

When a teacher, parent, or other professional identifies that a student needs additional support, the school's process typically involves:

1. Initial identification: The classroom teacher, in consultation with the school-based support team, identifies that a student needs additional planning. In Saskatchewan, this often involves a Student Services Team or similar school-based group.
2. Assessment and data gathering: The team gathers information about the student's strengths, learning profile, and needs. This may involve formal assessments, teacher observations, and parent input.
3. Plan development: The IIP or PPP is developed with input from the teacher, school-based specialists (resource teacher, psychologist if available), and parents.
4. Implementation: The plan guides instruction and support in the classroom.
5. Review: Plans are reviewed regularly — typically at reporting periods — and updated based on progress data.

Parents have the right to participate in this process. Under Saskatchewan's Ministry of Education guidelines, meaningful parental participation means more than being handed a document to sign. You should be contributing information about your child's history, strengths, and needs, and discussing goals before they are finalized.

What to Do If Saskatchewan's System Is Failing Your Child

Saskatchewan's special education system faces similar pressures to other provinces: chronic assessment waitlists, specialist shortages in rural areas, and EA availability constraints. If your child's school is not developing a plan, not following an existing plan, or denying services, the escalation pathway in Saskatchewan runs:

1. School-based resolution: Start with the classroom teacher and principal. Document your conversations in writing. Request a formal meeting and send a follow-up email summarizing what was discussed and what commitments were made.

2. Division-level escalation: If school-based conversations stall, escalate to the school division's Director of Education or Student Services department. Saskatchewan has 27 school divisions, each with its own administrative structure.

3. Saskatchewan Ombudsman: The Saskatchewan Ombudsman has authority to investigate complaints about administrative fairness in public education. If a school is not following its own policies, failing to respond to parent requests, or applying policies inconsistently, the Ombudsman can investigate and recommend corrections. The Ombudsman cannot override educational decisions, but it can identify procedural failures and apply institutional pressure.

4. Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission: For complaints involving discrimination on the basis of disability — including failure to accommodate a student's learning needs — the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission accepts complaints and conducts investigations. As with all human rights processes in Canada, internal remedies should be attempted first, but the Commission can be a powerful escalation tool.

Moving to Saskatchewan From Another Province

If you're moving to Saskatchewan from Ontario (where your child has an IEP), Alberta (IPP), BC (IEP), or any other province, your existing plan does not automatically transfer with full legal force. Saskatchewan's school division will conduct its own assessment of your child's needs and develop a new plan within the provincial framework.

This does not mean your previous documentation is useless — far from it. Bring a comprehensive transition portfolio: all previous plans, assessment reports, specialist recommendations, and school records. Present it to the new school at registration. The more detailed and organized your documentation, the faster the new school can put appropriate supports in place while formal assessment processes proceed.

The National Framework Above Saskatchewan's System

Saskatchewan operates under the same national legal canopy as every other province. Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability. The Moore v. BC ruling establishes that meaningful access to education is a human right. These protections exist regardless of what Saskatchewan's Education Act says.

This matters practically: if a Saskatchewan school division is systematically failing students with disabilities — cutting services, ignoring plans, denying assessments — the human rights framework gives parents recourse above the provincial education system.

For parents who want to understand both Saskatchewan's specific processes and the broader national legal framework that applies across all 13 jurisdictions, the Canada Special Ed Parent Rights Compass provides a comparative overview, provincial process charts, and advocacy templates built around Canadian human rights law rather than US IDEA-based frameworks.

Key Questions to Ask at Your Child's Saskatchewan IEP/IIP Meeting

When you attend a meeting to review or develop your child's IIP or PPP, these questions establish a clear record:

• How does the information in this plan connect to the assessment data for my child?
• Who specifically will be providing each support listed, and what is their training for my child's particular needs?
• How will progress be measured, and how often will that data be shared with me?
• What will trigger a review if my child is not making expected progress?
• If any support listed cannot be delivered due to staffing, how will that be communicated to me and documented?

Send a follow-up email after the meeting summarizing the commitments made. The paper trail you build from the first meeting forward is the foundation of every escalation that may follow.

See more Canada guides →