Skip to content Ontario.ca Français

Ministry Support for Special Education

The Ministry of Education supports special education in Ontario schools in a number of ways.

• The ministry provides direction to school boards through legislation, regulations and policy memoranda.

• The ministry provides funding to school boards specifically to support the delivery of special education programs and services.

• The ministry publishes policy documents and resource documents to assist school board administrators, teachers, support professionals, students, and their parent(s)/guardian(s) in providing appropriate special education programs and services to students with special needs and to inform them of ministry policies in this area.

• The ministry provides regional office staff with special education expertise to monitor and assist school boards in implementing special education policies.

• The ministry provides Provincial and Demonstration Schools for students who are deaf, blind, and deaf-blind or who have severe learning disabilities.

• The Minister's Advisory Council on Special Education provides advice to the Minister on special education policies and on the implementation of those policies in Ontario schools.

• The Ontario Special Education Tribunal provides final and binding decisions in the event of disagreements between parent(s)/guardian(s) and school boards concerning the identification or placement of exceptional pupils.