Systemic failures: EndNormalizing Exclusion of Children with Disabilities from ON Schools
The Issue
To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:
WHEREAS:
● Every child in Ontario deserves meaningful, equitable access to public education, regardless of disability, diagnosis or level of support required.
● Students with disabilities have the right to an education that accommodates their individual needs and allows them to participate, learn and belong alongside their peers.
● Ontario is experiencing significant shortages of Educational Assistants (EAs) and other essential school support staff.
● These staffing shortages are increasingly resulting in students with disabilities being sent home, denied attendance, placed on shortened school days or otherwise excluded from meaningful participation in education.
● People for Education’s 2023–24 Annual Ontario School Survey found that the proportion of elementary school principals who reported asking a student with special education needs to stay home increased from 48% in 2013–14 to 63% in 2023–24.
● Families are being forced to absorb the consequences of staffing shortages through lost instructional time, disrupted routines, unexpected childcare responsibilities and repeated advocacy for their children’s access to education.
● Parents should not be expected to accept reduced educational access simply because their child’s disability requires additional support.
● A lack of staffing is a system-level problem and should not become a permanent barrier to a child’s right to education.
● Meaningful inclusion requires more than enrolling a student in a neighbourhood school. It requires ensuring that the student can attend, participate, learn and receive the accommodations necessary to access their education.
THEREFORE, WE THE UNDERSIGNED PETITION THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO TO:
1. End the normalization of disability-related school exclusion by establishing clear provincial expectations that students with disabilities must not routinely be denied attendance or placed on shortened school days because of staffing shortages.
2. Require transparent provincial reporting of disability-related school exclusions, shortened school days, requests for students to remain home and instructional time lost due to insufficient staffing.
3. Require individualized staffing and safety contingency plans for students with disabilities who depend on additional support to safely access and participate in school, including plans for staff absences and unexpected vacancies.
4. Develop a comprehensive provincial Educational Assistant workforce strategy addressing recruitment, competitive compensation, retention, training, workplace safety and the availability of qualified replacement staff.
5. Establish accountability for shortened and modified school days, including documented reasons, meaningful parental involvement, regular reviews and clear plans to restore full-day attendance.
6. Strengthen protections for students with disabilities by ensuring school boards meet their duty to accommodate and actively explore alternative and interim supports rather than defaulting to exclusion when staffing challenges arise.
7. Establish a provincial oversight and complaint mechanism so families can raise concerns when students with disabilities are repeatedly denied meaningful access to education, with clear timelines for investigation and resolution.
8. Ensure equitable access to education across Ontario, including northern, rural and underserved communities where recruitment and retention challenges can make access to appropriate supports particularly difficult.
OUR MESSAGE IS SIMPLE:
Children with disabilities are not the problem.
Their support needs are not an inconvenience.
Their education should not be conditional on staffing availability.
Inclusion means access, not just placement.
We call on the Government of Ontario to take meaningful action to ensure that every child with a disability has the opportunity to attend, participate, learn and belong in their school community.
We cannot continue to accept a system where the absence of support staff means the absence of a child’s education.
86
The Issue
To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:
WHEREAS:
● Every child in Ontario deserves meaningful, equitable access to public education, regardless of disability, diagnosis or level of support required.
● Students with disabilities have the right to an education that accommodates their individual needs and allows them to participate, learn and belong alongside their peers.
● Ontario is experiencing significant shortages of Educational Assistants (EAs) and other essential school support staff.
● These staffing shortages are increasingly resulting in students with disabilities being sent home, denied attendance, placed on shortened school days or otherwise excluded from meaningful participation in education.
● People for Education’s 2023–24 Annual Ontario School Survey found that the proportion of elementary school principals who reported asking a student with special education needs to stay home increased from 48% in 2013–14 to 63% in 2023–24.
● Families are being forced to absorb the consequences of staffing shortages through lost instructional time, disrupted routines, unexpected childcare responsibilities and repeated advocacy for their children’s access to education.
● Parents should not be expected to accept reduced educational access simply because their child’s disability requires additional support.
● A lack of staffing is a system-level problem and should not become a permanent barrier to a child’s right to education.
● Meaningful inclusion requires more than enrolling a student in a neighbourhood school. It requires ensuring that the student can attend, participate, learn and receive the accommodations necessary to access their education.
THEREFORE, WE THE UNDERSIGNED PETITION THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO TO:
1. End the normalization of disability-related school exclusion by establishing clear provincial expectations that students with disabilities must not routinely be denied attendance or placed on shortened school days because of staffing shortages.
2. Require transparent provincial reporting of disability-related school exclusions, shortened school days, requests for students to remain home and instructional time lost due to insufficient staffing.
3. Require individualized staffing and safety contingency plans for students with disabilities who depend on additional support to safely access and participate in school, including plans for staff absences and unexpected vacancies.
4. Develop a comprehensive provincial Educational Assistant workforce strategy addressing recruitment, competitive compensation, retention, training, workplace safety and the availability of qualified replacement staff.
5. Establish accountability for shortened and modified school days, including documented reasons, meaningful parental involvement, regular reviews and clear plans to restore full-day attendance.
6. Strengthen protections for students with disabilities by ensuring school boards meet their duty to accommodate and actively explore alternative and interim supports rather than defaulting to exclusion when staffing challenges arise.
7. Establish a provincial oversight and complaint mechanism so families can raise concerns when students with disabilities are repeatedly denied meaningful access to education, with clear timelines for investigation and resolution.
8. Ensure equitable access to education across Ontario, including northern, rural and underserved communities where recruitment and retention challenges can make access to appropriate supports particularly difficult.
OUR MESSAGE IS SIMPLE:
Children with disabilities are not the problem.
Their support needs are not an inconvenience.
Their education should not be conditional on staffing availability.
Inclusion means access, not just placement.
We call on the Government of Ontario to take meaningful action to ensure that every child with a disability has the opportunity to attend, participate, learn and belong in their school community.
We cannot continue to accept a system where the absence of support staff means the absence of a child’s education.
The Decision Makers
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Petition created on November 9, 2026