Things Are Looking Worse for Vulnerable Students with Disabilities in School Boards that the Education Minister is Now Running, As the TDSB Illustrates

Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance Update

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

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Things Are Looking Worse for Vulnerable Students with Disabilities in School Boards that the Education Minister is Now Running, As the TDSB Illustrates

 

February 26, 2026

 

SUMMARY

 

If the Toronto District School Board is any guide, it certainly looks like things can get worse for vulnerable students with disabilities at school boards that the Ford Government has seized control over, ousting their elected trustees. Here is troubling information emanating from the TDSB.

 

David Lepofsky has just written Ontario’s Minister of Education Paul Calandra, in his role as Chair of the TDSB’s Special Education Advisory Committee. His letter enumerates other illustrations of concerns arising for students with disabilities.

 

As well, a very troubling article was published on the Toronto Today news site on February 25, 2026, which we set out below. It describes how the TDSB is gradually whittling away at two high schools which provide needed supports for students with disabilities.

 

Because the provincially-appointed Supervisors who now run the seven Ontario school boards that the Ford Government seized do all their work behind closed doors, unlike elected school trustees, there is a large and sharp reduction in public accountability and oversight. Where there are fewer checks and balances, there is a danger of growing arbitrariness and unfairness, especially to those who are the most vulnerable, such as students with disabilities.

 

The Ford Government is now directly controlling and managing the schools at which over one third of all Ontario K-12 students study. That’s 700,000 Ontario students.

 

How You Can Help

 

  • Please widely publicize the information in this Update. Urge the media in your community to cover this.

 

  • 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. TDSB’s Special Education Advisory Committee is doing this on April 13, 2026, and would be happy to offer tips on how to do it.

 

  • 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

 

Text of Letter from TDSB, Special Education Advisory Committee to Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra

 

David Lepofsky, Chair, TDSB Special Education Advisory Committee

mdl.seac@gmail.com

 

February 25, 2026

 

To: The hon. Paul Calandra, Minister of Education minister.edu@ontario.ca

Ministry of Education

14th Floor, 315 Front Street West

Toronto, ON M7A 0B8

Canada

 

Dear Minister,

Re: Recurring Unmet Needs of K-12 Students with Disabilities/Special Education Needs

I write on behalf of the Toronto District School Board’s Special Education Advisory Committee SEAC. We seek your help for TDSB’s 40,000 students with disabilities/special education needs, because you are now the elected official with ultimate responsibility for TDSB operations while under provincial supervision.

Under longstanding provincial law, each school board must appoint a SEAC to advise it on the development and implementation of special education, including, among other things, on the board’s special education budget and Special Education Plan. Our SEAC members bring to bear extensive community connections and lived experience with the challenges in the school system facing students with disabilities/special education needs and their parents/guardians.

Too often, students with disabilities/special education needs face recurring barriers in Ontario’s K-12 schools. The Government received a comprehensive report over four years ago from a Government-appointed panel that extensively documented these barriers and recommended reforms to remove and prevent them. TDSB’s student population comes from Canada’s largest and most diverse city. The intersectional disadvantages that its students with disabilities/special education needs are thereby intensified.

Since the Government removed the TDSB’s school board trustees and appointed the provincial TDSB Supervisor, the situation facing TDSB students with disabilities/special education needs has not demonstrably improved. In several ways, things have gotten worse for them.

Please direct the TDSB Supervisor to attend TDSB SEAC meetings. The representatives of parents of students with disabilities/special education needs wish an opportunity to address him directly, to have him hear of their concerns and to work collaboratively with him on finding solutions.

Previously, we had trustees attending every SEAC meeting, some as members, and often, simply as interested trustees. At some of the school boards that the Ontario Government has taken control over, your appointed Supervisor has attended at least some of their SEAC meetings. In sharp contrast, the TDSB Supervisor has not attended any of the monthly TDSB Special Education Advisory Committee Meetings, even though he stepped into the shoes of the school board trustees. Several trustees were members of SEAC. The Supervisor has been invited to attend each of our monthly SEAC meetings since He assumed his role last year.

Since the Supervisor was appointed, we have raised several issues with him in writing that are major concerns for students with disabilities/special education needs. We have asked him to take action to address these concerns. He has not taken any of the actions that SEAC requested. He has given no reasons for this.

Under Ontario Regulation 464/97, the elected trustees must afford SEAC an opportunity to be heard before making a decision on a SEAC recommendation. Trustees make those decisions in public, after a SEAC representative gets a chance to address the trustees, also in public. Trustees’ discussions and decisions on any SEAC recommendation were conducted in public meetings, and live streamed to the public.

In contrast, in several cases, the provincial Supervisor has made adverse decisions on SEAC recommendations without affording SEAC a chance to be heard before the decision was made. Each such adverse decision was made behind closed doors. No reasons were given.

Making this worse, the provincial TDSB Supervisor has made decisions that are adverse to the needs of students with disabilities/special education needs, overturning earlier decisions of the trustees. He increased the maximum size of two categories of special education classes. He also overturned the ceiling of 32 students which the trustees had set for the size of any individual Grade 4 to 8 class. As long as TDSB maintains the overall average size of those classes, there is now no limit on the maximum size of any individual Grade 4 to 8 class. This can only hurt individual students with special education needs who are placed in a mainstream Grade 4 to 8 class.

TDSB’s SEAC has repeatedly emphasized that there is need for more staff to support the learning needs of students with disabilities/special education needs. TDSB budget officials have told SEAC every year that provincial funding for special education is less than the amount TDSB actually must spend to serve students with disabilities/special education needs. We have no indication that the provincial Supervisor has attempted to get any increase in provincial funding for TDSB.

It has become much harder for TDSB’s SEAC to reach parents of students with disabilities/special education needs. For years, TDSB live streamed SEAC meetings. This helped SEAC and TDSB staff reach more parents of students with disabilities/special education needs and get helpful feedback from them. It helped SEAC members, TDSB staff and members of the public who missed a SEAC meeting but want to see what happened at it. Last October, you banned TDSB from live streaming SEAC meeting. This has made things worse for parents of students with disabilities/special education needs.

Under the provincial Supervisor, TDSB has now cut back on the scope/content of its much-needed multi-year Special Education Review. This hurts students with disabilities/special education needs. SEAC was never consulted on this cutback, nor were parents of students with disabilities/special education needs. If anything, TDSB needs to far more inclusively involve SEAC in the plans for this Special Education Review and to expand that Review, not further limit it.

In SEAC’s experience, it is important for there to be broad public accountability for the management of TDSB. The removal of the trustees and the elimination of their public meetings substantially undermine this, to the disadvantage of all students, and especially to the disadvantage of vulnerable students with disabilities/special education needs. It would benefit students with disabilities/special education needs for there to be far stronger and more effective democratic oversight of the school board.

We urge you to broadly consult with parents of students with disabilities/special education needs, including with TDSB SEAC and other SEACs, about any future changes being considered to the governance and oversight of the publicly-funded school system. We are eager to work with you on this.

TDSB’s Student and Family Support Office requires important additions to ensure that it effectively serves the learning needs of students with disabilities/special education needs and the accessibility needs of parents with disabilities. A staff complement as low as two at the TDSB’s Student and Family Support Office, reported on City TV, is far too small to serve 250,000 students including 40,000 students with disabilities/special education needs. The Student and Family Support Office staff should have expertise in education of students with disabilities. The Student and Family Support Office should offer to accommodate the needs of parents with disabilities in using its services.

Any delay in rectifying this situation can only compound the disadvantages that these vulnerable students too often face. We seek your intervention now to repair this situation. We welcome any opportunity to assist you in doing so.

 

Sincerely,

 

David Lepofsky CM, O. Ont

Chair Toronto District School Board’s Special Education Advisory Committee

 

 

CC: Chairs of each Ontario school board’s Special Education Advisory Committee.

Denise Cole Deputy Minister of Education denise.cole@ontario.ca

Stacey Zucker, Interim TDSB Director of Education Stacey.zucker@tdsb.on.ca

Rohit Gupta TDSB Supervisor supervisor@tdsb.on.ca

 

 

 Toronto Today February 25, 2026

 

Originally posted at https://www.torontotoday.ca/local/education/tdsb-cuts-enrolment-2-high-schools-disabled-students-parents-alarmed-11925561

 

 

TDSB cuts enrolment at 2 high schools serving disabled students, alarming parents

Parents of students at Heydon Park Secondary School and Eastdale Collegiate Institute say the enrolment cuts will negatively impact some of the board’s most vulnerable learners

By Gabe Oatley

 

The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) has suspended Grade 9 enrolment next fall at two small Toronto high schools that specialize in supporting students with mild intellectual disabilities — a move that has alarmed parents who fear it will limit options for some of the board’s most vulnerable learners.

Last week, parents of Eastdale Collegiate Institute, a high school in the city’s east end, learned of the halted enrolment via a letter from their local superintendent.

The school is one of several board-wide that offers a specialized program supporting students with mild intellectual disabilities (MID), such as autism and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

Andrea Seaborn, Eastdale’s parent council chair, told TorontoToday on Tuesday she was very alarmed by the news, noting that the institution has been “game changing” for her son, who has an intellectual disability and has attended Eastdale for three years.

“He is a very introverted, shy guy, but this kind of close-knit environment has given him confidence,” she said. “He’s done credited courses, which we never thought he’d be able to do.”

In her letter to parents last week, local superintendent Anastasia Poulis said the decision was made due to low enrolment for the upcoming school year. Poulis said prospective students who wanted to attend Eastdale will be placed elsewhere within the board in order to better meet their needs.

Second school also sees enrolment suspension

Across town, parents at Heydon Park Secondary School, a small high school with a MID program in Baldwin Village, have separately learned there will be no new Grade 9 or 10 enrolment next fall.

In November, then-TDSB director of education Clayton La Touche sent an emailed response to Heydon Park’s parent council co-chair, informing her there “will not be a grade 9 or grade 10 cohort at Heydon Park in the next school year.”

La Touche did not provide an explanation for the enrolment suspension, noting only that the decision came amidst the board’s parallel choice not to run an open house for the school this fall. The event typically serves as a chance for the board to market the institution to parents for the upcoming academic year.

This will be the second year in a row Grade 9 enrolment was suspended at Heydon Park.

Last summer, despite the protests of students and parents, the TDSB chose to suspend fall Grade 9 admission at the school, which the board said was due to low enrolment.

Jennifer Beasley, a parent of a Grade 12 student at Heydon Park, told TorontoToday in an interview on Tuesday that she is devastated by the continued enrolment suspension.

After struggling to find success at three prior schools, Beasley said Heydon Park has been “life-changing” for her daughter, who is autistic.

Whereas previous educators treated her as if she was a “trouble” student, since she began attending Heydon Park this fall, Beasley said the teachers have offered her the patience she needs to thrive.

“It’s completely boosted her confidence. She’s believing in herself. She’s learning new things about herself — and it makes a future seem possible,” Beasley said.

This fall, Beasley said her daughter achieved the highest EQAO math test mark ever recorded by a Grade 10 student at Heydon Park. The Toronto parent said her daughter has also learned how to use public transportation.

“The teachers adore her. They said she’s a good role mode,” said Beasley. “She has never in her life heard that before.”

Concerns about the future

Both Toronto parents said they are fearful about how the TDSB’s enrolment suspensions could impact their children.

At most TDSB high schools, students graduate around 18, but at Heydon Park and Eastdale, many students remain until they’re 21 years old.

This provides extra time for students to develop crucial life skills and allows for additional time to obtain a high school certificate or diploma.

If the TDSB decides to suspend enrolment at Eastdale in subsequent years, Seaborn said she’s worried her son may have to transfer schools, as the number of courses on offer may dwindle.

“Teacher allocations are based on student numbers,” she said. “Once we start reducing those student numbers, the teachers start having to be relocated elsewhere.”

Seaborn said she believes this would be disastrous for Eastdale’s students.

“I don’t think most of our kids at our school would stay in school,” she said.

Seaborn noted that the next-closest high school with a MID program is Central Technical School, which has a population of about 1,000 students. This is far larger than Eastdale, which has about 120 students, or Heydon Park, which has about 130 students.

She said she believes Central Tech’s hallways would be “overwhelming” for many of Eastdale’s students who have sensory issues, and that the longer bus ride would also prove to be a major challenge.

Student population concerns at small schools

In her letter to parents last week, superintendent Poulis said enrolment at Eastdale is only currently about one-third of the total number of students that the school is capable of handling.

Separately, the TDSB has said enrolment at Heydon Park has been declining.

Last summer, in response to a question from TorontoToday, TDSB spokesperson Emma Moynihan said enrolment at Heydon Park Secondary School has dropped because Toronto’s neighbourhood schools are getting better at inclusionary practices and supporting a wider range of student needs.

However, parents dispute the characterization.

A website created by parents aiming to counter the enrolment suspension at the two schools says that both institutions aren’t “under-enrolled,” but rather “under threat.”

Beasley and Seaborn said the TDSB has insufficiently promoted the other two schools to prospective students and their parents.

In an interview with TorontoToday on Tuesday, David Lepofsky, chair of the TDSB’s special education advisory committee said the lack of sufficient promotion of programs supporting disabled students is a major concern he has raised for several years with the board.

“[The TDSB] is like a restaurant that won’t give you a menu,” he said. “Good luck ordering.”

School closure fears

Seaborn and Beasley said they’re concerned the suspension of enrolment at the two schools next year is the first step towards the board choosing to close the institutions entirely.

These concerns were echoed in two recent letters sent by local elected officials to the TDSB’s provincially-appointed supervisor, Rohit Gupta, who is responsible for the board’s governance since the province sidelined elected trustees last summer.

In a joint letter sent to Gupta on Wednesday, University-Rosedale’s local elected trustee Deborah Williams, Coun. Diane Saxe and MPP Jessica Bell asked the supervisor to reinstate Heydon Park’s admissions and to “keep the building.”

Their letter, which mirrored a separate missive sent by Toronto-Danforth elected officials to Gupta last week, noted that the province has made recent regulatory changes allowing the sale of school buildings without first considering other public uses.

“If there are any plans to relocate or alter the current programming at Heydon Park, we strongly request a fully public and transparent process for any change in use of the school building at 70 D’Arcy Street,” they wrote.

TorontoToday inquired with the Ministry of Education whether the admission suspensions are a preview to school closures. A ministry spokesperson redirected TorontoToday’s questions to the TDSB, while a TDSB spokesperson said no additional information would be provided beyond what’s already been shared with Heydon Park and Eastdale parents.

School closure moratorium

In her recent letter to parents, Poulis said discussions “about next steps for Eastdale CI will be continuing.”

She noted that under current provincial law, there is a moratorium on school closures.

“As you are aware, the provincial moratorium on Pupil Accommodation Reviews is still in effect and as a result the school will remain open and operating for the 2026-27 school year,” she wrote. “Eastdale CI will continue to focus on students in Grades 10-12 for the upcoming school year.”

However, for some parents with students at the two schools, that message offered little comfort.

Beasley said after years of seeing her daughter struggle, the enrolment instability at Heydon Park adds additional stress.

“It [is] just so disheartening to finally find [a school] that was working for our daughter after so many years, only to find it might be taken away from us,” she said.