Manitoba EBD, MH2, ASD2, and ASD3 Funding: What the Categories Actually Mean

When a school tells you they're "looking into funding options" for your child, do you know what they're actually looking for? Manitoba's special education funding system uses specific diagnostic categories — EBD, MH2, ASD2, ASD3, and others — to determine eligibility for provincial categorical grants. Understanding what these categories mean, how much money they represent, and what the school is required to do with that money gives you the ability to have a very different kind of conversation with the Student Services Administrator.

How Manitoba's Special Needs Funding Actually Works

Manitoba provides special education funding to school divisions through two main mechanisms: a block grant (which has applied to most Level 2 and Level 3 categories since 2017/2018) and student-specific applications for certain high-support categories.

Under the block grant system, the province calculates how much Level 2 and Level 3 funding a division historically received and provides that amount as a pooled allocation — rather than attaching dollars to individual students. The division then decides how to deploy those resources across its student population.

The dollar values attached to each level are:

• Level 2 Support: $9,500 per eligible full-time equivalent student
• Level 3 Support: $21,130 per eligible full-time equivalent student

The specific diagnostic categories determine which level a student falls under. Here's what those categories mean.

Level 2 Categories

Level 2 funding applies to students who require significant support for "a major portion of the school day." The Level 2 categories include:

MH2 — Severe Multiple Disabilities: A student with a combination of severe, multiple disabilities — typically involving both physical and cognitive components — who requires intensive support for most of the school day. The term "multiple" here is important: a single disability, even if significant, may not meet MH2 criteria without the combination requirement.

ASD2 — Moderate to Severe Autism Spectrum Disorder: A student with a formal diagnosis of ASD at a level of severity that significantly impairs both social interaction and communication, and where those impairments require substantial school-based support across most of the day. The diagnostic report must come from a qualified clinician — a registered psychologist, psychiatrist, or developmental pediatrician.

HOH2 — Permanent Bilateral Moderate to Severe Hearing Loss: Students with documented, permanent bilateral hearing loss at a moderate to severe level who require specialized supports for most of the school day.

There are also Level 2 categories for severe visual impairment (VI2) and certain emotional/behavioral designations at the Level 2 threshold (EBD2).

EBD Funding: Level 2 and Level 3

EBD — Emotionally/Behaviourally Disordered — spans both Level 2 and Level 3, and the distinction matters enormously.

EBD2 applies to students who are "very severely emotionally/behaviourally disordered" and require support for a major portion of the school day but not necessarily its entirety.

EBD3 applies to students who are "profoundly emotionally/behaviourally disordered" and require intensive support throughout the entire school day. EBD3 is one of the explicit carve-outs from the block grant system — it still requires a student-specific application to the provincial Funding Review Team, even for public school divisions that otherwise receive block grants.

This distinction has major practical implications. For EBD3, the school must submit a formal individualized application that includes:

• A comprehensive clinical assessment documenting the severity and pervasiveness of the emotional/behavioral challenges
• A Coordinated Multisystem Plan (wraparound plan/Circle of Care Treatment Plan) involving outside agencies such as Family Services or Justice
• Evidence that the student's needs cannot be met through existing school-based resources alone

This application requirement means that if your child qualifies for EBD3, the school division cannot simply absorb them into the block grant pool and claim that resources are limited. They must formally apply for the student-specific funding. If the school is not doing this for a student who clearly meets EBD3 criteria, that is something worth pushing on directly.

Level 3 Categories

Level 3 funding ($21,130) applies to students requiring intensive support throughout the entire school day. The Level 3 categories are:

MH3 — Profound Multiple Disability: The most intensive version of MH2 — students with profound combinations of disabilities requiring support all day.

ASD3 — Severe to Profound Autism Spectrum Disorder: Students with ASD at a severity level that requires continuous support across the entire school day. The clinical threshold here is higher than ASD2: the student's challenges must be severe enough to require full-day intensive intervention, not just support for a major portion.

EBD3 — Profoundly Emotionally/Behaviourally Disordered: As described above — the most intensive behavioral support category, requiring a student-specific application and a coordinated multisystem plan.

URIS Group A: Students requiring complex, life-sustaining medical procedures during the school day (tube feeding, tracheostomy care, catheterization). Like EBD3, URIS Group A still requires a student-specific application.

The Block Grant Problem for Parents

The shift to block funding creates a specific information asymmetry. Because Level 2 funding is pooled at the division level, a school can truthfully say "we don't have money specifically for your child" — that's how the system is structured. What the school cannot truthfully say is that this eliminates their obligation to accommodate your child under the Human Rights Code.

The duty to accommodate under The Human Rights Code (Manitoba) exists independently of how the province structures its grants. A school that receives Level 2 block funding must deploy those resources in a way that meets its individual accommodation obligations. The fact that the money is pooled does not authorize the division to deny a specific child the support they need and simply call it a funding constraint.

When a school tells you there's no dedicated EA for your child because funding is pooled, the right question is: what specific accommodation has the school offered your child, and does that accommodation meet the standard of eliminating the educational barrier your child faces? The school must be able to answer this. If it cannot, you are looking at a potential Human Rights Code failure, not just a budget limitation.

When the School Hasn't Submitted an Application

If your child's needs clearly fall under EBD3 or URIS Group A — the two categories that still require student-specific applications — and the school has not submitted an application, you can formally request that they do.

Write to the Student Services Administrator asking:

1. Has my child been formally assessed for EBD3 (or URIS Group A) eligibility?
2. If yes, has an application been submitted to the provincial Funding Review Team? If not, why not?
3. If no assessment has occurred, what is the division's plan and timeline for conducting one?

Ask for written responses. The answers create accountability and become part of the paper trail if you need to escalate.

Independent Schools and the Different Rules

Independent (private) schools in Manitoba operate under different funding rules. Independent schools do not receive block grants — they must use the categorical funding application process for all special needs levels, including Level 2. This means independent schools must submit student-specific applications for ASD2, MH2, and other Level 2 categories, unlike public school divisions.

If your child attends an independent school and the school is claiming it cannot access funding for your child's needs, ask specifically whether they have submitted categorical funding applications to the provincial government. The process is different from public school divisions, but the obligation to support students with special needs is the same.

Getting a Diagnosis That the School Will Recognize

For any of these funding categories to be accessed, the clinical documentation must come from qualified professionals whose credentials Manitoba Education will recognize. A psychoeducational assessment for ASD2 or ASD3 funding must be completed by a registered psychologist or other qualified clinician. Reports from practitioners who are not registered with the Manitoba Psychological Society — or equivalent professional bodies for other disciplines — may not be accepted by the division for provincial funding purposes.

If you're considering a private assessment to accelerate the process, confirm in advance with the school's Student Services Administrator what credentials they require, so you're not spending $3,000 to $6,500 on a report the division will decline to recognize.

The Manitoba Special Ed Advocacy Playbook includes a detailed breakdown of the funding categories, how to push for student-specific applications when appropriate, and how to hold the school accountable when block grant pooling is being used to avoid individual accommodation obligations.

The Practical Bottom Line

Knowing that your child might qualify for ASD2 ($9,500) or ASD3 ($21,130) in provincial support, and understanding that the school must either access that funding or justify why the accommodation obligation is still being met without it, is the foundation of effective advocacy on resource questions. The school holds the application lever. But you hold the accountability lever.

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