MAX'S LAW — THREE MOTIONS ARE A HUGE STEP FORWARD. BUT OUR FIGHT IS FAR FROM OVER. 💜

MAX'S LAW — THREE MOTIONS ARE A HUGE STEP FORWARD. BUT OUR FIGHT IS FAR FROM OVER. 💜
A petition calling on the Ontario government to protect the educational rights, safety, and dignity of children with disabilities.

Max's Story — Why This Fight Started
Maximus "Max" Simao was just seven years old.

He was autistic, non-speaking, and absolutely loved school. His classroom, teachers, education workers, friends, and routines meant everything to him.

But for approximately two and a half months, Max was denied a full school day because the supports he needed were not available.

Instead of eating lunch with his classmates, Max was being sent home.

On December 11, 2025, Max tragically lost his life in an accident while travelling home with his mom from school at a time when he should have still been in his classroom.

Max should have been at school.

We cannot change what happened to our little boy. But we can fight to change the system that allowed the chain of events leading to his death to begin.

And that is why Max's Law exists.

WE HAVE THREE MOTIONS. NOW WE NEED REAL CHANGE.
Thanks to the incredible support of families, education workers, disability advocates, the Ontario NDP, and thousands of people who have signed and shared this petition, we have reached an incredible milestone: three motions have been drafted addressing some of the most important issues behind Max's Law.

This is a major step forward, and we are incredibly grateful to everyone who has helped us get here.

The motions address critical areas of concern, including:

Tracking and reporting when children are sent home early, placed on shortened school days, or informally excluded.
Greater transparency, written explanations, and plans when children lose access to their education.
Addressing the staffing, funding, and resources needed to keep children with disabilities supported in school.
But three motions are not legislation. And three motions do not cover everything we are fighting for.

We did not start this journey simply to have the problem acknowledged.

We started it to make sure the problem gets fixed.

WHAT MORE DOES MAX'S LAW DEMAND?
Our full proposal goes further, calling for enforceable protections such as:

1. Ending exclusions caused by understaffing. Children must not lose their full-day education simply because a school board lacks educational assistants, funding, or adequate supports.

2. Strict limits on emergency exclusions. Any genuine emergency reduction in school access must be justified, temporary, documented, and subject to clear limits. Our proposal includes a maximum of 10 school days for emergency arrangements, rather than allowing shortened schedules to continue indefinitely.

3. A five-school-day family protection period. Families should have time to respond, plan, and challenge proposed changes instead of suddenly being told their child can no longer attend school full-time, except where genuine immediate safety concerns require urgent action.

4. Independent reviews and meaningful appeal rights. Parents must have a fair way to challenge decisions, with an independent review process available within 30 days.

5. Provincial oversight and public accountability. Ontario needs a central system to record exclusions, shortened days, and lost instructional time, with independent oversight and public reporting.

6. Real consequences when the rules are broken. Protections mean little without enforcement. Max's Law proposes penalties for violations, with collected fines supporting a dedicated Max's Special Education Fund.

7. Protection for education workers and families who speak up. Nobody should fear retaliation for reporting unsafe conditions, inadequate supports, or the denial of a child's education.

8. Accountability at every level. School boards and the Ministry of Education must be responsible for ensuring children receive the support they need, instead of allowing families and education workers to carry the consequences of funding and staffing failures.

These are examples of why three motions, while incredibly important, cannot be the finish line.

OUR MESSAGE TO DOUG FORD, PAUL CALANDRA, AND EVERY ONTARIO MPP
Children's rights should not depend on staffing budgets.

A child's disability should never determine whether they deserve a full day of education.

And parents should not have to spend months or years fighting for supports their children need just to attend school.

We are asking the Ontario Legislature to debate and vote on the three motions, act on their recommendations, and work toward passing a fully funded, enforceable version of Max's Law.

We are also standing with Ontario's education workers. They deserve the staffing, resources, and support to do the jobs they entered this profession to do.

Supporting education workers and protecting children with disabilities are not two separate fights. They are the same fight.

PLEASE DON'T STOP SIGNING. DON'T STOP SHARING. DON'T STOP PUSHING.
To everyone who has helped bring Max's Law this far: THANK YOU.

You have helped two grieving parents take the worst heartbreak imaginable and turn it into a movement demanding change.

But there are still children being sent home today. Still parents receiving calls to pick up their children. Still education workers being asked to do the impossible without adequate support.

Until that changes, our work is not finished.

We are asking everyone to:

Sign and share this petition.
Contact your MPP and ask them to support the three motions and the full goals of Max's Law.
Stand with education workers and families fighting for better special education.
Keep the pressure on Queen's Park until meaningful, enforceable legislation becomes reality.
We cannot bring Max home.

We cannot give him back the school days he lost.

We cannot give him the birthdays, Christmas mornings, or future that were taken from him.

But together, we can fight to make sure another family doesn't have to begin the same heartbreaking journey.

Three motions are progress.

Max's Law becoming enforceable legislation is the goal.

And until we get there, we will keep fighting.

For Max. 💜

For every child being excluded.

For every family still fighting.

For every education worker trying to make a difference.

MAX'S LAW — BECAUSE NO CHILD SHOULD HAVE TO LOSE THEIR LIFE BEFORE THEIR RIGHTS MATTER.

— Chris and Emily Simao

Parents of Maximus.