Sign Up to Speak at TDSB Special Education Advisory Committee’s April 13, 2026 “Listening to Parents’ Voice” Meeting – Tell Other School Boards to Hold These Meetings!

Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance Update

United for a Barrier-Free Ontario for All People with Disabilities

Website: www.aodaalliance.org

Email: aodafeedback@gmail.com

Twitter: @aodaalliance

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/aodaalliance

TikTok: @AODAAlliance

 

Sign Up to Speak at TDSB Special Education Advisory Committee’s April 13, 2026 “Listening to Parents’ Voice” Meeting – Tell Other School Boards to Hold These Meetings!

 

February 10, 2026

 

SUMMARY

 

Parents of Ontario’s 330,000 or more students with disabilities need a public place where they can voice their concerns about disability barriers and problems their child faces in Ontario-funded schools. Here is one for parents of students with disabilities at Canada’s largest school board, the Toronto District School Board. We encourage each of Ontario’s 72 school boards to offer the same thing.

 

TDSB’s Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) is inviting parents/guardians of students with disabilities/special education needs to come to their April 13, 2026 meeting. At this meeting, they can tell this Committee of parents’ advocates about the barriers their child is experiencing at school, and what should be done to fix this. A person who wants to speak at that meeting, in person or over Zoom, needs to register in advance. Below is the announcement of this meeting and how to register. Speakers will be accepted on a first come, first served basis.

 

We strongly encourage every school board’s Special Education Advisory Committee to hold such a meeting. TDSB’s meeting title says it all. It’s called “Listening to Parents’ Voice!”

 

It is troubling and inexcusable that TDSB senior staff are unwilling to do anything to publicize this event to parents, other than posting a notice about it on the TDSB website’s SEAC page – a web page that many of the families of the 40,000 students with disabilities/special education needs at TDSB likely don’t even know about. It would not cost TDSB to send out an email to parents alerting them to this event. TDSB’s unwillingness to help publicize this event, takes place at a school board that is under the direct control of the Ford Government. It is symptomatic of how things are getting worse.

 

Back in November 2024, TDSB’s SEAC held its first and only Town Hall for parents of students with disabilities/special education needs. It was very successful and exposed stark and troubling problems. TDSB senior staff have opposed SEAC holding another Town Hall in 2025 or 2026. TDSB’s senior staff have also opposed SEAC even calling its upcoming April 13, 2026 meeting a “Town Hall.” Students with disabilities and their parents/guardians deserve better.

 

How You Can Help

 

  • Please widely post and circulate the TDSB Special Education Advisory Committee’s announcement set out below. Encourage parents/guardians of students with disabilities/special education needs to sign up to speak at the April 13, 2026 TDSB Special Education Advisory Committee meeting.

 

Urge your local school board to hold a similar open Special Education Advisory Committee meeting to listen to the voices of parents/guardians of students with disabilities/special education needs. TDSB’s SEAC has  publicly stated that it is willing to offer its advice and tips on how to hold a successful event.

 

  • If you are a member of a school board’s Special Education Advisory Committee, please propose to your SEAC that it hold an open meeting to listen to parents’ voices.

 

  • Check out the AODA Alliance’s online video that offers practical tips to members of a school board’s Special Education Advisory Committee and members

 

 

  • Learn about the AODA Alliance’s advocacy to improve education for students with disabilities by visiting the AODA Alliance Website’s education page.

 

 

MORE DETAILS

 

TDSB Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) “LISTENING TO PARENTS’ VOICE” MEETING

 

Are you the parent or guardian of a student with disabilities/special education needs in the TDSB? The TDSB SEAC would like to hear from you.

 

Date: Monday, April 13, 2026 at 7:00 pm
Location: Virtual or In-person at TDSB Board Office, 5050 Yonge St., North York

 

The TDSB SEAC is a group that has volunteered to advise the TDSB on special education programs and services.

SEAC is always open to parents/guardians of students with disabilities/special education needs making presentations to SEAC (called “delegations”). The entire SEAC meeting on Monday, April 13, 2026 will be made up of parents/guardians of students with disabilities/special education needs speaking to SEAC. Please plan to comment on 2 key questions:

  • What barriers have you and your child encountered in school, if any?
  • What recommendations do you have to remove and prevent these barriers, and to enhance the experiences at school for students with disabilities/special education needs?

SEAC needs your input to help it develop recommendations for the TDSB for reforms and improvements. This meeting is not set up to help individuals navigate TDSB Special Education services. Families with concerns regarding their child’s services should contact their school’s principal and superintendent and if needed, TDSB’s new Student and Family Support Office.

The meeting starts at 7 pm and usually ends around 9 pm. We will fit in as many speakers as time permits. Speakers will be scheduled in the order their requests to speak are received. If we cannot fit in everyone that evening who has sent in a request to speak, SEAC will work to schedule the others at future monthly SEAC meetings. We will email those who request to speak to share all the details.

 

Format

Participants who would like to share their comments should plan to address the two questions listed above.

To accommodate all participants, each will get 3 minutes to share their experiences and ideas.

Please complete and email us the following registration form. Send it to Lianne Dixon Lianne.Dixon@tdsb.on.ca. Participants who would like to submit a pre-recorded video, written statement or artistic piece can email it to the same address.

To protect privacy, in your comments to SEAC, please do not use the names of any student, teacher, other TDSB staff member, or school.

 

Application to Speak at the April 13, 2026 TDSB Special Education Advisory Committee “Listening to Parents’ Voices” Meeting

 

Your Name  
Email address  
Phone number  
Accessibility needs, if any  
Your Topic. Please summarize in two or three sentences what you would like to speak about.