The time for action is now: Ontario Autism Coalition special education report
New data paints a sobering picture of an education system in crisis
The Ontario Autism Coalition (OAC) is demanding immediate action on resource shortages in Ontario public schools, which are putting students at risk of being further excluded. Families have spoken, and the data is undeniable.
"The time for action is now,” the OAC states.
Special education supports in Ontario are failing, not from a lack of effort by educators, but because schools and school boards are stretched thin and underfunding has taken its toll, according to a new report by the OAC.
“With responses from families across 60 different school boards, the results make it clear that Ontario’s education system is fundamentally broken,” the report states.
Data collected before the 2024–25 school year paints a bleak picture of systemic shortages in staff and resources, leaving many students without support.
Soft Exclusions on the Rise
The findings show how soft exclusion is rising. Over one-third of families said their children were partially excluded from school, while six percent reported full exclusion.
Nineteen percent of families said their children were on modified schedules, with 35 percent attending three to five hours a day. Schools across Ontario cited resource or safety issues in 38 percent of cases.
These issues have had a significant impact on learning, with two-thirds of parents reporting that their children were not accessing the curriculum consistently. Half of all families said their children were not receiving meaningful education.
Funding and Staff Shortages Take Their Toll
Despite provincial investments—$28.2 billion in operating funds and $2.3 billion in capital funding for the 2023–24 school year—educators say it’s simply not enough.
While there are 127,898 full-time equivalent teachers, 7,666 administrators, and 9,591 early childhood educators in the system, many schools still experience daily shortages of key staff. With 2.08 million students in Ontario’s schools, educators say resources are stretched far too thin and families want to see meaningful change.
“Lack of support staff means those who are at school are under extra stress. They are spread too thin,” said one elementary school principal in southwestern Ontario.
IEPs and Safety Concerns
Ontario offers special education for diverse needs, but many families said their children’s individualized education plans (IEPs) were not followed consistently.
Two-thirds of families said they rarely or never received progress reports on their child’s IEP goals. Safety was another major concern, with parents expressing frustration about the lack of communication and adequate accommodations.
The OAC’s report aligns with findings from the People for Education’s report from last year, Access to Special Education in Ontario: Gaps and Challenges.
A Call for an Education Task Force
Nearly half of Ontario’s schools experience daily shortages of educational assistants, according to the People for Education report released in June, 2024.
Access to psychologists and specialists is also limited, with elementary schools in low-income neighbourhoods far less likely than those in high-income areas to have regular access to psychological services.
“The waiting lists for programs and community supports are too long,” said an elementary school principal from central Ontario.
“There are too few board psychologists, and the few we do have are being asked to attend far too many meetings, rather than working to clear the backlog of students who need assessments.”
The OAC is urging the provincial government to form an Education Task Force, a recommendation backed by People for Education. The task force would unite educators, administrators, policymakers, and students to tackle staff shortages and inequitable access to special education.
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