Our Background

Our son was diagnosed at 10mos old with Type 1 Diabetes, a life-threatening chronic illness. When he was ready to go into kindergarten the local public school offered to have a nurse come in once a week and they were not allowed to give him insulin or should he become unresponsive, live saving Glucagon. We made the decision to put him into private school at a great expense to us, while also paying taxes.

Now he is older and we want to get him into a specific public school that provides an added support system for us and despite providing medical documentation and repeated requests, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) has refused to place him in a school that can support what he needs to stay safe.

We asked for an out-of-catchment placement near a critical community support system, which is crucial to his health and safety before, during, and after school hours. The TDSB denied this request with minimal review, no transparency, and no real effort to collaborate or offer alternatives.

With less than a month until the new school year, our child remains without a safe placement.

So I am starting this petition to help all families struggling with the school system. 

 
Why this matters for all of us:
Children with disabilities, including chronic medical conditions, are legally protected under the Ontario Human Rights Code. Families have the right to request reasonable accommodations, including out-of-catchment placements, when necessary to ensure the health, dignity, and safety of their children.

Navigating the school system when sending our Type 1 children to school is often confusing, inconsistent, and opaque. This is a unique disease requires constant monitoring. 

We need the TDSB to reform its policies to prioritize the needs of medically vulnerable students.

This should include:

Allowing out-of-catchment school placements when necessary for medical reasons.

Ensuring all schools have trained staff capable of managing students' health conditions including:

1. Administering Glucagon and other emergency treatments
2. Support with monitoring blood sugar levels
3. Supporting students so they do not face preventable medical distress
4. Creating clear, transparent procedures for handling accommodation requests and appeals from parents of medically vulnerable children.

We call for immediate action and long-term change:

1. TDSB immediately review and revise its accommodation process to ensure it is transparent, compassionate, and consistent with the Human Rights Code
2. Ontario Human Rights Commission investigate systemic failures to accommodate and hold the board accountable
3. Type 1 Parent Advisory Panel created, made up of families of children with medical needs and disabilities, to help guide and oversee policy improvements and ensure lived experience is centered.

This is about more than one child. This is about every family who’s been made to feel powerless, dismissed, or left behind in a system that should protect their kids — not endanger them.

 
How you can help:
Sign this petition in support of medically vulnerable children across Toronto.

Share this petition with friends, families, educators, and your communities.

Contact your local trustee and MPP and demand reform that puts children’s safety first.

Together, we can build a system that ensures no child is left behind because of a medical condition.

I urge you to join me in calling on the Toronto District School Board to review and reform its policies immediately.

Let's fight for a brighter, safer future for all students.

Please sign this petition to make this change happen.

*please do not donate, this will petition will be used only to show the need to the Ontario government.