Doug, A Child Has Died: Fund Our Schools.
Doug, A Child Has Died: Fund Our Schools.
The Issue
(In Loving Memory of Max Simao)
Letter to Premier Doug Ford - "A Child Has Died: Fund Our Schools"
Dear Doug,
Did you know that thousands of disabled students in Ontario are stuck at home right now for half the day or longer when they should be at school for the full day?
We’re pretty sure you’ll agree that half an education is not an education. Imagine for a moment dropping your child off at school at 9 a.m. and then having to pick them up just three hours later at 12 pm., every day. How would you keep your job? And how would your child be able to learn when they are missing 50% or more of their school day?
This is not okay. Every child in Ontario has the right to a full day, safe, and meaningful education.
Across Ontario, we have a massive Educational Assistant (EA) shortage. You probably know that EAs are the most affordable and valuable asset at our schools. They are the ones who work directly with students with high needs, including behavioral challenges, autism, and physical disabilities. Did you know that they only make $28 an hour? They are our frontline workers getting hit when dysregulated students are overwhelmed in large, overcrowded classrooms. But EAs continue to show up to work, every day, and they don’t do it for the money. They do it because they care about our children.
We have kids graduating from CHEO hospital school in Ottawa every spring heading to public schools to start grade 1 in September. But their parents keep getting told by their local community schools, sorry, "the best we can do for your child is half day support. We're sorry, but we just don't have enough EAs."
This needs to change, and we need your help. We need your help to fix the funding formula so that all children can attend school for the full day.
Did you know that the funding formula for special education is outdated and broken? The numbers are clear: 71 out of 72 school boards are spending more on special education than they receive from the province. Some school boards are so broke they can't even afford toilet paper (see report). And if schools can't afford toilet paper, they definitely can't afford to hire more EAs.
Parents recently asked Bob Plamondon, the provincial supervisor in Ottawa, to fix the funding formula. He was asked to fix the formula during the March 4, 2026 Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) meeting. We sincerely hope that Bob has been in contact with you and Education Minister Paul Calandra about this.
Parents are starting to realize that when our children with special needs do not have enough support at school, it impacts the learning environment for ALL students. Did you know that some kindergarten classes are being evacuated on a weekly basis because children with acute special needs are not getting the support they need?
Many parents now realize that when kids with special needs are not supported in class, everyone pays the price. When children with acute needs don't get the support they need, the rest of that class cannot focus on learning. For example, if a child with special needs has an extended meltdown in class, and they don't have any EA support, this has a ripple effect on the rest of that class. Other students cannot focus on Math, writing or, to quote Paul Calandra, "getting back to basics."
Today, we just have one question for you: when are you going to fix the funding formula?
We hear in the news all the time about "historic investments" in special education by the Ministry, but when adjusted for inflation, the only thing historic about these investments is that they are historically bad.
If we do nothing, we're heading back to the 1960s when disabled kids were stuck at home. We're not okay with that. We sincerely hope you are not okay with that, either.
It's not okay that thousands of disabled kids in Ontario are stuck at home right now and are being denied their right to a full day education.
What is the plan to fix the funding formula? If you need solid data that shows how the funding formula is broken, we'll get you that data. We’ll get you data from hundreds of parents whose children are stuck at home.
Finally, if none of the above makes you want to fix the funding formula, let us tell you about Max. Max was a joyful, sweet, nonverbal autistic child living in Hamilton, Ontario. You can see his photo, above. Max was only seven years old when he tragically died on December 11, 2025.
The saddest part? Max's death was absolutely preventable. Max, just like over 100,000 disabled children in Ontario, was denied his right to a full day education.
On the day he died, Max was only allowed to attend school for 3 hours, in the mornings. Just one hour after his mother picked Max up from school, he was killed by a city bus.
Max should have been at school. He should have been with his classmates and his favourite EA. He should have been allowed to attend school for the full day, rather than being excluded from school due to an EA shortage.
If your government had properly funded public education, Max would still be here today. Please let that sink in.
This province must be held accountable. Max should have been at school in the early afternoon in December 2025 when he was tragically hit by that bus. He did not understand why he wasn't allowed to be at school like he was the previous school year. Max loved school.
Max is no longer here, but both his parents are here to remind you that he had a right to be at school. And to tell you, no more excuses. Time to fund our schools. Their child has died. A child who loved school and should have been at school with his classmates at the exact moment that he tragically died.
We look to you to make this right. We need you to fix the funding formula.
EAs help keep our children with special needs safe, including vulnerable, nonverbal autistic children. There are limits to what EAs can do, however. It’s just not physically possible to meet the needs of five (5) students with very special needs in a large class of 30+ students. Each year, EAs are asked to do more with less. Something's gotta give.
Did you know that when autistic children are upset, they sometimes go into flight or fight mode? Some will try to elope their school building. Sometimes they will run into traffic.
Do you remember Zak, the seven-year-old autistic student in Durham, who eloped his school in January 2024 during a snowstorm? Zak left his school without any winter clothing, no coat and no boots. He was only wearing a T-shirt. He was supposed to have 1:1 adult supervision at all times to make sure he did not elope. This support was not in place when he eloped. Zak was later found running across 4 live lanes of traffic, more than a kilometer from his school, during a snowstorm. He could have been killed.
Situations like this happen when schools don't have enough EAs to keep all children safe.
Do you remember Landyn Ferris? Two years ago in May 2024, Landyn tragically died, alone, at school. He had complex medical needs and he was never meant to be left unsupervised at school. But he was left alone. And he died. At school.
We share this with you to remind you what’s at stake when our public schools are underfunded, year after year. Children's lives are at risk. Change needs to happen, now.
We need you to fix the funding formula and fund our schools. Specifically, we need you to hire more EAs.
We have over 4,800 public schools in Ontario. Most of them are desperate for more EAs and they would love to have 2-3 more EAs. We need you to hire 12,000 EAs, starting now.
We are ready to help you recruit, train, and retain newly hired EAs. We’re part of a large group of dedicated parents and educators, ready to help you fix the funding formula. We're ready to help you to simply do the right thing.
We need you to fund our schools. We need you to hire 12,000 EAs by September 2026.
We came to Queen's Park on March 23, 2026 to deliver this message to you in person. To ask you to fund our schools. We do not need you to take over our public schools. We need you to fund them.
Please, do not let Max's death be in vain. Max was not the first child to die because our schools are underfunded, but he must be the last.
Please, have a heart. Do the right thing, and fund our schools.
Sincerely,
Michelle Bertram, Ottawa, ON
Max's parents, Chris and Emily Simao, Hamilton, ON
345
The Issue
(In Loving Memory of Max Simao)
Letter to Premier Doug Ford - "A Child Has Died: Fund Our Schools"
Dear Doug,
Did you know that thousands of disabled students in Ontario are stuck at home right now for half the day or longer when they should be at school for the full day?
We’re pretty sure you’ll agree that half an education is not an education. Imagine for a moment dropping your child off at school at 9 a.m. and then having to pick them up just three hours later at 12 pm., every day. How would you keep your job? And how would your child be able to learn when they are missing 50% or more of their school day?
This is not okay. Every child in Ontario has the right to a full day, safe, and meaningful education.
Across Ontario, we have a massive Educational Assistant (EA) shortage. You probably know that EAs are the most affordable and valuable asset at our schools. They are the ones who work directly with students with high needs, including behavioral challenges, autism, and physical disabilities. Did you know that they only make $28 an hour? They are our frontline workers getting hit when dysregulated students are overwhelmed in large, overcrowded classrooms. But EAs continue to show up to work, every day, and they don’t do it for the money. They do it because they care about our children.
We have kids graduating from CHEO hospital school in Ottawa every spring heading to public schools to start grade 1 in September. But their parents keep getting told by their local community schools, sorry, "the best we can do for your child is half day support. We're sorry, but we just don't have enough EAs."
This needs to change, and we need your help. We need your help to fix the funding formula so that all children can attend school for the full day.
Did you know that the funding formula for special education is outdated and broken? The numbers are clear: 71 out of 72 school boards are spending more on special education than they receive from the province. Some school boards are so broke they can't even afford toilet paper (see report). And if schools can't afford toilet paper, they definitely can't afford to hire more EAs.
Parents recently asked Bob Plamondon, the provincial supervisor in Ottawa, to fix the funding formula. He was asked to fix the formula during the March 4, 2026 Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) meeting. We sincerely hope that Bob has been in contact with you and Education Minister Paul Calandra about this.
Parents are starting to realize that when our children with special needs do not have enough support at school, it impacts the learning environment for ALL students. Did you know that some kindergarten classes are being evacuated on a weekly basis because children with acute special needs are not getting the support they need?
Many parents now realize that when kids with special needs are not supported in class, everyone pays the price. When children with acute needs don't get the support they need, the rest of that class cannot focus on learning. For example, if a child with special needs has an extended meltdown in class, and they don't have any EA support, this has a ripple effect on the rest of that class. Other students cannot focus on Math, writing or, to quote Paul Calandra, "getting back to basics."
Today, we just have one question for you: when are you going to fix the funding formula?
We hear in the news all the time about "historic investments" in special education by the Ministry, but when adjusted for inflation, the only thing historic about these investments is that they are historically bad.
If we do nothing, we're heading back to the 1960s when disabled kids were stuck at home. We're not okay with that. We sincerely hope you are not okay with that, either.
It's not okay that thousands of disabled kids in Ontario are stuck at home right now and are being denied their right to a full day education.
What is the plan to fix the funding formula? If you need solid data that shows how the funding formula is broken, we'll get you that data. We’ll get you data from hundreds of parents whose children are stuck at home.
Finally, if none of the above makes you want to fix the funding formula, let us tell you about Max. Max was a joyful, sweet, nonverbal autistic child living in Hamilton, Ontario. You can see his photo, above. Max was only seven years old when he tragically died on December 11, 2025.
The saddest part? Max's death was absolutely preventable. Max, just like over 100,000 disabled children in Ontario, was denied his right to a full day education.
On the day he died, Max was only allowed to attend school for 3 hours, in the mornings. Just one hour after his mother picked Max up from school, he was killed by a city bus.
Max should have been at school. He should have been with his classmates and his favourite EA. He should have been allowed to attend school for the full day, rather than being excluded from school due to an EA shortage.
If your government had properly funded public education, Max would still be here today. Please let that sink in.
This province must be held accountable. Max should have been at school in the early afternoon in December 2025 when he was tragically hit by that bus. He did not understand why he wasn't allowed to be at school like he was the previous school year. Max loved school.
Max is no longer here, but both his parents are here to remind you that he had a right to be at school. And to tell you, no more excuses. Time to fund our schools. Their child has died. A child who loved school and should have been at school with his classmates at the exact moment that he tragically died.
We look to you to make this right. We need you to fix the funding formula.
EAs help keep our children with special needs safe, including vulnerable, nonverbal autistic children. There are limits to what EAs can do, however. It’s just not physically possible to meet the needs of five (5) students with very special needs in a large class of 30+ students. Each year, EAs are asked to do more with less. Something's gotta give.
Did you know that when autistic children are upset, they sometimes go into flight or fight mode? Some will try to elope their school building. Sometimes they will run into traffic.
Do you remember Zak, the seven-year-old autistic student in Durham, who eloped his school in January 2024 during a snowstorm? Zak left his school without any winter clothing, no coat and no boots. He was only wearing a T-shirt. He was supposed to have 1:1 adult supervision at all times to make sure he did not elope. This support was not in place when he eloped. Zak was later found running across 4 live lanes of traffic, more than a kilometer from his school, during a snowstorm. He could have been killed.
Situations like this happen when schools don't have enough EAs to keep all children safe.
Do you remember Landyn Ferris? Two years ago in May 2024, Landyn tragically died, alone, at school. He had complex medical needs and he was never meant to be left unsupervised at school. But he was left alone. And he died. At school.
We share this with you to remind you what’s at stake when our public schools are underfunded, year after year. Children's lives are at risk. Change needs to happen, now.
We need you to fix the funding formula and fund our schools. Specifically, we need you to hire more EAs.
We have over 4,800 public schools in Ontario. Most of them are desperate for more EAs and they would love to have 2-3 more EAs. We need you to hire 12,000 EAs, starting now.
We are ready to help you recruit, train, and retain newly hired EAs. We’re part of a large group of dedicated parents and educators, ready to help you fix the funding formula. We're ready to help you to simply do the right thing.
We need you to fund our schools. We need you to hire 12,000 EAs by September 2026.
We came to Queen's Park on March 23, 2026 to deliver this message to you in person. To ask you to fund our schools. We do not need you to take over our public schools. We need you to fund them.
Please, do not let Max's death be in vain. Max was not the first child to die because our schools are underfunded, but he must be the last.
Please, have a heart. Do the right thing, and fund our schools.
Sincerely,
Michelle Bertram, Ottawa, ON
Max's parents, Chris and Emily Simao, Hamilton, ON
345
Supporter Voices
Petition Updates
Share this petition
Petition created on March 16, 2026