Canada’s Largest School Board to suffer Harmful Cuts to Special Education, Due to Combined Bad Decisions of the Ford Government and Its Provincially Appointed TDSB Supervisor

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Canada’s Largest School Board to suffer Harmful Cuts to Special Education, Due to Combined Bad Decisions of the Ford Government and Its Provincially Appointed TDSB Supervisor

 

May 26, 2026

 

SUMMARY

 

Recent media reports combine to show that the Toronto District School Board, Canada’s largest school board, will suffer from serious new cuts to special education. These are due to two causes.

 

First, the Ford Government is reducing its funding for special education at TDSB for the upcoming school year by six million dollars. For years, the Ontario Government has underfunded special education at that school board, among many other boards. This is revealed in the May 26, 2026 Toronto Today report, set out below.

 

Second, the Ford Government’s TDSB Supervisor, who gets his instructions from the Education Minister, has decided to cut fully 15 specialized special education kindergarten classes next year. This is revealed in an article in the May 14, 2026 edition of the Trillium, also set out below.

 

TDSB and the Ford Government have not consulted its Special Education Advisory Committee on any of this. These changes fly in the face of the devastating feedback parents of students with disabilities/special education needs gave TDSB at the April 13, 2026 public forum that TDSB’s Special Education Advisory Committee held to listen to parents’ voices. You can watch that public forum archived on YouTube. TDSB’s provincially appointed Supervisor, Rohit Gupta, has refused to attend any meetings of TDSB’s Special Education Advisory Committee, including the recent parents’ public forum.

 

When he addressed the public hearings on Bill 101 at the Standing Committee on Social Policy on April 27, 2026, Education Minister Paul Calandra acknowledged that Ontario must do better when it comes to special education. Speaker after speaker highlighted the harms caused by provincial underfunding of special education. This is all documented in the May 25, 2026 AODA Alliance Update.

 

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Toronto Today May 26, 2026

 

Originally posted at https://www.torontotoday.ca/local/education/tdsb-drop-special-ed-funding-next-year-6-million-12332287

 

‘We’re in trouble’: TDSB to see $6.4M drop in special ed funding next year

Provincial special education funding is closely tied to enrolment. The TDSB anticipates a reduction of about 5,000 students next year compared to this year

Gabe Oatley, Tina Yazdani

 

Amid a projected decline in enrolment, the Toronto District School Board will receive about $6.4 million less in special education funding next year from the provincial government — funds that opposition party leaders and advocates say the board cannot afford to lose.

The Ministry of Education recently released the figure as part of its overall spending plan next fall, which calls for reducing the TDSB’s revenue via the Special Education Fund from about $403 million to about $396.5 million — a drop of about 1.6 per cent.

David Lepofsky, chair of the TDSB’s special education advisory committee, called the planned reduction a “disaster.”

For years, the TDSB and many other boards provincewide have spent more on special education than has been provided by the Ministry of Education for that purpose, often using funds from other parts of their budgets to cover the gap.

In a report released two weeks ago, the province’s auditor general found that though provincial spending on special education has kept up with inflation, it has not kept pace with students’ increasing needs across Ontario.

The audit, which looked at three school boards in-depth, found just 21 per cent of classroom teachers surveyed said they were able to meet most of the needs of special education students in their class, while 87 per cent said they sometimes, rarely or never had the necessary resources to support the delivery of students’ individualized education plans.

While Lepofsky acknowledged the TDSB anticipates fewer students next year, he said any drop in funding is inappropriate.

“When the base amount wasn’t enough, and they’re reducing it more … we’re in trouble, and we’re in trouble, and we’re in trouble,” he said.

Ontario Liberal Leader John Fraser agreed the reduction is a bad idea.

“Classes aren’t safe places to learn or to work, because class sizes are big, and special education has been starved,” he said. “If it’s been starved, why are they giving it less?”

Funding cut based on enrolment: TDSB

In a presentation to the special education advisory committee on May 11, Stephanie Harris, TDSB’s interim executive officer of finance, said a reduction in provincial special education funding was anticipated as the bulk of it is directly tied to student enrolment.

Harris said the board anticipates about 5,000 fewer students next year.

She said the main drivers of the drop are fewer newcomers in Toronto because of reduced federal immigration targets, and young families moving out of the Greater Toronto Area as a result of affordability concerns.

But some leaders are questioning the reasons for the decline.

“There is very little tracking, actually, of why students are leaving our school system,” said Opposition leader Marit Stiles. “So, is it simply that numbers are down, or is it that students are going to be homeschooled, or moving into private education?”

TorontoToday has also previously reported that spokespeople for six Toronto private schools, including some of the city’s most exclusive, have said they’ve seen increased parent interest for admissions for September 2026.

While Harris said the board’s budget for next school year has not yet been finalized, she added that she was “proud” to report that families would not see a reduction in “school-based staffing for special education” next year.

TorontoToday asked the TDSB if it will still be able to maintain current special education staffing levels given the planned funding decrease, and what aspects of the board’s special education programming may see cuts.

In a statement, they said the board will maintain school-based special education supports district-wide, at the same levels as this year.

“Special Education funding is primarily based on the total enrolment of a school board. With 3,000 fewer students this year and 5,000 fewer students anticipated next year, we expected a change in per-pupil funding, which represents the majority of the funding amount,” they wrote.

Minister unconvinced more funding is needed

TDSB Trustee Michelle Aarts (Beaches-East York) said she is not clear on how the TDSB would maintain current staffing levels, as she noted staff salaries and benefits represent the largest special education expense.

In an interview with TorontoToday, Aarts said she believes the province’s planned spending reduction is demonstrative of the “chronic problem” with special education funding.

“It does not reflect need. It makes a one-size-fits-all assumption,” she said.

Asked about the recent auditor general’s report earlier this month, Education Minister Paul Calandra did not commit to increasing spending.

“Some boards are spending more than they’re allotted, and some boards are spending less on special education than they’re allotted. It’s fine — but what are the outcomes? That’s what’s most important,” he said.

“Ultimately, more needs to be done, more consistency, better data collection and ensuring that what we’re doing, the money that we’re spending, has the results that are required to have the best outcomes for students.”

Tension between disability advocates, supervisor

Word of the planned funding reduction comes amid heightened frustration among some disability advocates, parents and teachers over several other recent special education decisions made under the leadership of the board’s provincially-appointed supervisor, Rohit Gupta.

Last July, shortly after assuming his role, Gupta increased class sizes in diagnostic kindergartens, which serve disabled three- to five-year-olds — from a maximum of eight to ten students.

This spring, diagnostic kindergarten teachers told TorontoToday that choice has created “absolute chaos,” leading to more students harming themselves, peers and teachers.

In May, The Trillium subsequently reported that the board now plans to eliminate 15 diagnostic kindergarten classrooms next fall, citing declining enrolment.

Lepofsky told The Trillium the decision “does not make sense,” while Fraser said he believed the decision was about “cutting costs.”

Separately, Gupta has also drawn criticism from parents and disability advocates for a board decision to suspend Grade 9 enrolment next fall at two small Toronto high schools that specialize in supporting students with mild intellectual disabilities.

The decision has left parents of students at Eastdale Collegiate Institute in the city’s east end and Heydon Park Secondary School, in the city’s Baldwin Village neighbourhood, worried that the board plans to shutter the specialized schools.

Stiles noted decisions like this are impacting all students, not just those with special education needs.

“Other kids will also fall behind. Because they won’t be getting the attention maybe they need,” she said. “There are not enough adults, qualified adults in our schools to do this really important work.”

TDSB staff are expected to present an overview of the board’s complete 2026-27 budget on May 28 at 7 p.m. during a meeting of the board’s Parent Involvement Advisory Committee.

 

 

May 14, 2026 The Trillium

 

Originally posted at https://www.thetrillium.ca/news/education-and-training/tdsb-to-cut-15-specialized-kindergarten-classes-for-students-with-complex-needs-12283860

 

TDSB to cut 15 specialized kindergarten classes for students with complex needs

The board said declining enrolment means fewer diagnostic kindergarten classrooms are needed, but critics argue larger class sizes are allowing more students to be absorbed into fewer classrooms – placing more strain on vulnerable students and staff

Tina Yazdani

 

The Toronto District School Board is cutting 15 specialized kindergarten classes, The Trillium has learned, after making the controversial decision last year to increase the size of the classes for students with disabilities.

It is the latest in a wave of cuts and adjustments the board has made, citing a projected drop in enrolment.

The board explained it is expecting 5,000 fewer students in the 2026-27 school year, “with kindergarten being impacted most,” and, as a result, it doesn’t require as many of the classes.

Critics say the board can justify fewer classes on paper because more students are being absorbed into each room, rather than triggering a need for additional classrooms.

“This reduction does not make sense. Simple,” said David Lepofsky, who, despite being the chair of the TDSB’s special education advisory committee, said this is the first he’s heard about the change.

“This is illustrative of how we aren’t kept up to date on key things; it’s impossible to know what’s really going on,” Lepofsky said. “It’s covered in fog.”

The specialized classes being cut use lower student-teacher ratios to support three- to five-year-olds who have complex learning, developmental or medical needs.

Rohit Gupta, the Ford government-appointed TDSB supervisor, increased the maximum number of students permitted in the classes shortly after he was put in the role last July, raising the cap from eight to 10.

Gupta’s decision overturned a prior directive from TDSB trustees who had rejected the class-size increases after vocal opposition from educators and parents.

In the months since, teachers of diagnostic kindergarten classes have said the new classroom conditions are “absolute chaos,” leading to more injuries and less learning for some of the system’s most vulnerable students.

Lepofsky argued that the decision to also reduce the number of classes is proof that the board’s leadership isn’t listening to concerns.

“They’re trying not to hear them,” he said. “They’re being driven by budget.”

The Ford government put the TDSB under supervision almost a year ago, sidelining trustees with the stated goal of bringing spending under control.

But opposition leaders at Queen’s Park said the TDSB’s drastic measures to balance its budget are eliminating programs that families desperately need.

“This is going to be devastating news for parents, for families and for educators, and this means that a lot more children are going to fall through the cracks and not get the supports they need when they are in school,” said NDP Leader Marit Stiles.

Interim Liberal leader John Fraser said the bottom line is that the “education system is being starved.”

“I don’t think this government’s approach to education is about student success — it’s about cutting costs,” Fraser said. “Kids aren’t getting what they need in schools. We know that there aren’t enough adults in schools.… It’s not rocket science, the more time a teacher or an EA have to spend with a child, the more it helps their development.”

An auditor general’s report released this week revealed special education funding has kept up with inflation, but not the growth in special education needs — with the majority of school boards in the province spending millions more than they’re receiving in funding.

 

The auditor found that of Ontario’s 72 school boards, 46 spent more on special education in 2023-24 than the ministry provided them with funding for.

The education minister said the ministry needs to “step up and show leadership,” but stopped short of committing to more funding.

“The report highlights the inconsistency,” Calandra said on Tuesday. “Some boards are spending more than they’re allotted, and some boards are spending less on special education than they’re allotted. It’s fine — but what are the outcomes? That’s what’s most important.”

“It just shows you once again this government is completely abandoning children with special needs,” said Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner.

The TDSB maintained that the reduction in classes will “enable more students to access the program and provide additional support to other special education needs throughout the district,” but didn’t explain how.

“We will continue to support all students based on their individual needs and combination of needs within a class. In making this change we will improve access for students and reduce the waitlist for this valuable program,” it said in a statement.

When asked why waitlists for diagnostic kindergarten classes persist even as enrolment declines, the board said that even if demand exists, it may not meet the minimum required to form a class, which creates waitlists.