Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance Update
United for a Barrier-Free Ontario for All People with Disabilities

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Watch March 11, 2026 Queen’s Park News Conference on the Future of Democracy at Ontario’s School Boards and Read News Coverage

March 12, 2026

SUMMARY

1. Watch the 33-Minute Video of the March 11, 2026 “Education Summit” at Queen’s Park in which the AODA Alliance Took Part

Watch the 33-minute archived video of the March 11, 2026 Queen’s Park news conference, where school boards, teachers’ unions, K-12 students and parents of students with disabilities/special education needs united to call for Education Minister Paul Calandra to halt changes to the local democratic election school board trustees until there is a broad public consultation. This video is available on the AODA Alliance’s YouTube channel.

This news conference was called in response to the Ford Government’s repeated indication that it is considering the elimination of elected school boards to govern our local schools. Speaking at this news conference in defence of local democracy were Kathleen Woodcock (president of the Ontario Public School Boards Association OPSBA), Carter Peios (a student school board trustee), David Mastin (president of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario) AODA Alliance Chair David Lepofsky (who is also Chair of the Special Education Advisor Committee of the Toronto District School Board).

We thank and congratulate OPSBA for convening this news conference and for including the AODA Alliance in it.

2. This News Conference was an Amazing “First”

It is rare if ever that representatives of parents, school boards, students, and teachers’ unions agree on an agenda for the K-12 school system. That is what happened at this news conference.

They agreed on this three-point plan.

1. 1. The Government should put on hold any new legislative reforms to school board governance until a comprehensive public consultation has been held.
   2. This public consultation should include the voices and perspectives of parents, including parents of students with disabilities, school boards, education staff, and subject-matter experts. It should take into account the recurring unmet needs of students with disabilities.
   3. The Government should make public a detailed plan for the return to local democracy at those school boards now under provincial supervision, with a path to its restoration including clear goals and benchmarks.

Twelve disability organizations also backed this plan, as revealed in the March 11, 2026 open letter to Education Minister Calandra.

At the end of this Update, you can read the OPSBA’s March 11, 2026 news release. It further shows the unity achieved from so many perspectives.

It was also an incredible “first” for us to have the voice of parents of students with disabilities included on the rostrum at this summit. At this news conference, AODA Alliance Chair David Lepofsky said that Ontarians have a strong long-term preference for finding middle ground, rather than an extreme position. He argued that the “Ontario option” in this case is not one extreme, abolishing elected trustees, or the other extreme, leaving the existing system in place with no changes. He said the news conference participants are reaching out their hand to Premier Doug Ford to find a middle ground that keeps school boards governed by locally elected representatives and that reforms the system to address problems with the status quo.

3. Very Good Media Coverage

This Queen’s Park news conference resulted in a gratifying number of news reports. Below you can find reports in the Toronto Star, CTV News, Global News, the Canadian Press and Innisfil Today.

4. Education Minister Paul Calandra Tries to Eclipse Our News Conference by Holding One of His Own, but it Backfires

On learning of the plans for this 11 a.m. March 11, 2026 Queen’s Park news conference, Education Minister Paul Calandra and Premier Ford rushed to schedule a rival news conference for 10 a.m. the same morning to make an announcement of their own. They announced a plan to give each elementary teacher $750 for school supplies.

They held their event in Etobicoke. This was no doubt aimed to distract the media’s attention from our event, and to draw reporters out to Etobicoke so they would not be able to get to Queen’s Park in time for our 11 a.m. Queen’s Park news conference. This is a distraction tactic that the Ford Government and other governments have used in the past.

Their tactic backfired. Reporters could easily attend the 10 a.m. event in Etobicoke and then watch our 11 a.m. event on live stream, or when archived right afterwards. Some of the news reports set out below were written by reporters who were not physically present at our 11 a.m. Queen’s Park news conference.

Second, some of the news articles that reported on the Calandra announcement also included coverage of our 11 a.m. news conference. Therefore, we ended up piggybacking on their story.

Third, and most important, at the Government’s 10 a.m. event, reporters asked Premier Ford and Education Minister about the core message we were about to address at our 11 a.m. Queen’s Park news conference, namely whether they plan to abolish elected school board trustees. Both politicians said they have not yet decided and made further comments on the topic. At the 11 a.m. Queen’s Park news conference, reporters asked the presenters to respond to the Government’s statement on point minutes before. The media picked up on all of this, as seen in the articles below.

Governments often like to avoid being called on to comment on an emerging story. Often the current Government simply does not reply at all to a reporter’s inquiry. The Government cannot do that at a live news conference.

Moreover, the Government does not like to afford us an opportunity to give the media a response to its answer to our claims. Here, those speaking at the 11 a.m. Queen’s park news conference were afforded a golden opportunity to do just that.

Had the Government not held its 10 a.m. news conference, we would not have had this opportunity at 11 a.m. Their attempted distraction backfired.

5. How You Can Help

• • Please widely post and circulate the link to the March 11, 2026 Queen’s Park News Conference. The link is: https://www.outube.com/watch?v=oeoal37Cv7o
  • Urge other people to watch this news conference and to read the contents of this AODA Alliance Update.
  • Contact your member of the Ontario Legislature. Tell them it is very important to preserve democratic elections for the people who run our school boards.

MORE DETAILS

Global News March 11, 2026

Originally posted at: https://globalnews.ca/news/11726020/ontario-school-board-supervision-timeline/

Ford government could keep school boards under supervision for ‘years’

By Isaac Callan & Colin D’Mello Global News
Ontario’s education minister says he will keep school boards in the province under supervision for years if necessary and won’t feel pressure to hand them back to elected trustees until he is confident they’re being well-run.

Paul Calandra has put eight school boards under supervision over the past year, sidelining trustees at some of the province’s largest boards.

Both Toronto public and Catholic, as well as the two English-language boards in Peel Region, are now being run by provincial supervisors. The eight supervised boards represent some 750,000-plus students.

“Almost 40 per cent of the student population in Ontario is under the control of the Ministry of Education right now,” Calandra said. “That ostensibly is to ensure that classroom funding is maximized to lower down the temperature we’d seen in advance of supervision.”

Supervision is something that has concerned some in the education space, including parent groups and unions. An open letter sent to the Ford government asked for a clear plan on how boards would return to trustee-led governance.

Calandra, however, suggested he was in no hurry to reverse course.

“With respect to the boards that we have under supervision, they’re not going to be turned back until they’re on the right path, full stop,” he said. “If it takes us one year, two years, three years, 10 years — I don’t care.”

Calandra has also mused over months about the future of trustees, pointing out he has the power to abolish English public school trustees if he chooses.

David Maston, president of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, said giving the provincial government control of day-to-day decisions at school boards is a mistake.

“Comments about potentially eliminating them altogether, concentrating decision-making power at Queen’s Park, should concern us all,” he said.

“These actions raise serious concerns about the minister acting without meaningful consultation from those directly involved: the families of students, educators and education workers.”

Calandra has pointed to a trip to Italy taken by trustees at one board and an excursion to the Toronto Blue Jays’ hotel by another board as examples of mismanagement from elected trustees.

David Lepofsky, a disability advocate and chair of the AODA Alliance, said it was a “false dilemma” to suggest trustees must exist in their current form or be abolished.

“Mend it, don’t end it,” he suggested.

Among Lepofsky’s concerns is the danger that eliminating trustees could reduce the options for parents of children with disabilities. He said supervision at the Toronto District School Board had hurt children with special educational needs.

“What we’ve seen from the point of view of kids with disabilities and special education needs is that after six or more months under their supervision, things have not gotten one bit better,” he said.

“In fact, things have gotten appreciably worse.”

While Calandra seemed to be moving full steam ahead with the removal of trustees a few months ago, Premier Doug Ford would not commit to the plan on Wednesday.

“I can’t confirm it right at this second, everything’s on the table,” he said. “What we want to do is focus in the classroom, what we don’t want to see is mismanagement.”

Calandra said he still planned to recommend changes.

“I haven’t given the premier my suggestions yet for reform -I’ll do that very soon,” he said. “A whole host of options for the premier and then to my cabinet colleagues.”

The lack of a decision so far is something Kathleen Woodcock, president of the Ontario Public School Board Association, hopes means the idea could be scrapped.

“I hope the premier has decided to listen to all of the education sector, saying this is not a path that really makes any sense for our students,” she said.

The Canadian Press March 11, 2026

Originally posted at https://www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/ontario/ontario-giving-elementary-teachers-750-cards-to-buy-classroom-supplies/article_e422c24b-4e54-5fc2-845d-a826d402afed.html

Ontario giving elementary teachers $750 cards to buy classroom supplies
Allison Jones and Liam Casey The Canadian Press

A teacher’s desk in a classroom is seen at Wazoson Public School of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) in Ottawa, on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

TORONTO – Ontario elementary school teachers will be getting $750 purchasing cards starting in the next school year for classroom supplies, Premier Doug Ford announced Wednesday.

Ford said he has on numerous occasions encountered teachers at the dollar store who were buying supplies using their own money, and they shouldn’t have to do that.

“The days of teachers having to put their hands in their own pockets to pay for school supplies, those days are done,” he said at a press conference about the $66-million fund.

“I’m just so proud,” Ford added later. “I think this is the greatest thing I think we’ve ever done for public education.”

Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario president David Mastin said teachers will be pleased to see the investment in classroom supplies, but the government shouldn’t toot its own horn too much, as having classrooms well stocked with tissues and pencils should just be a given.

“The government is trying to make us believe that this is a gift that’s being given prior to what is going to be probably a very contentious round of central bargaining,” he said.

“We shouldn’t even be talking about this. This should be a foregone conclusion.”

Education Minister Paul Calandra said the ministry does provide funding that boards use for classroom supplies.

“There are some resources that have been given to our boards to provide funding, on average about $300, but it doesn’t always get to the teachers,” he said.

The province is setting up a website through which homeroom teachers can make their purchases of supplies such as arts and crafts materials, stationery and paper products, posters and classroom decor, and paper towels and tissues. Those materials will come at a reasonable cost, due to the bulk purchasing power of the province, Calandra said.

Teachers can carry over unused portions of their $750.

The government will send teachers a survey Wednesday so they can give input on which supplies they would like to be available through the purchasing website, he said.

Interim Liberal Leader John Fraser said the website won’t provide teachers with what they actually need.

“There’s no website that is going to get that young girl in school who needs an (educational assistant) – they can’t click on that,” he said.

“They can’t click on making a class size smaller.”

Calandra has been making waves in the year since he became education minister, putting eight school boards under government supervision and raising the possibility of eliminating the role of trustees at English public boards.

He said Wednesday that he has not yet brought a final plan on trustees or school board governance to the premier or cabinet, but that the eight boards are unlikely to have their supervision lifted any time soon.

Officials from school boards, teachers’ unions, disability advocacy groups and others connected to the education system gathered separately Wednesday calling on Calandra to consult with them before proceeding with governance changes.

“The lack of certainty about school board elections is creating immediate instability for the upcoming election period,” said Kathleen Woodcock, president of the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association.

“We’re here to invite the government to work with us to strengthen public education, develop stronger public policy together and maintain the trust our communities place in our world-class education system.”

Debbie King, chair of a provincial Black Trustees’ Caucus, said trustees provide a direct connection to the communities they serve.

“We bring lived experience, professional experience that’s very valuable in representing the issues that are affecting our children and our communities directly,” she said.

Calandra said he is not interested in hearing from trustees advocating to maintain their positions.

“I would suggest to all of those vested interests, the trustee associations, put first students, put parents first, and then give me your advice based on that,” he said.

“If it’s just about saving your job, that’s a non-starter. If it’s about how we can make the system better, then we’ll listen. But it has to be about student achievement, full stop. Without that, then no, I’m just simply not going to listen.”

David Lepofsky, a disability advocate and chair of the Toronto District School Board’s special education advisory committee, said eliminating trustees removes an avenue parents use to pursue accommodations for their children’s disabilities.

If there are problems with the education system, the status quo and abolishing trustees are not the only two options, Lepofsky said.

“Mend it, don’t end it,” he said.

“Let’s find that reasonable middle. Let’s put on hold takeovers of more boards right now. Let’s give a chance for all of us to have some input, and Ontarians to have a say, and let’s give those boards under supervision an orderly, predictable path to restore local democracy.”

Innisfil Today March 11, 2026

Originally posted at: https://www.innisfiltoday.ca/local-news/premier-stays-coy-on-whether-school-board-trustees-will-be-elected-this-fall-11988347#google_vignette

Premier stays coy on whether school board trustees will be elected this fall

‘We’ll come out with an answer on that shortly,’ Doug Ford said when asked a yes-or-no question by a reporter Wednesday morning

Sneh Duggal

Ford-clapping-for-calandra

Ontario Premier Doug Ford applauds as Long-Term Care Minister Paul Calandra answers a question the legislature resumes at Queen’s Park in Toronto on Feb.

Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on

The Trillium,

a Village Media website devoted exclusively to covering provincial politics at Queen’s Park.

Premier Doug Ford won’t say whether or not school board trustees will be on the ballots in this fall’s municipal elections — but he’s promising to share an answer on that question soon.

“We’ll come out with an answer on that shortly,” the premier said Wednesday morning, when a reporter asked him for a yes-or-no answer to the question about

whether or not trustees will be elected this fall.

Earlier in the morning, groups representing school board and union leadership, Indigenous trustees, students with disabilities and civil liberties advocates had issued a statement calling on the government to hold broad consultations before making changes to school board governance.

“Groups representing all aspects of publicly funded education in Ontario are expressing concerns about recent comments from Education Minister Paul Calandra regarding the potential elimination of elected school board trustees — a system of governance that has been in place longer than Canada has been a country,” they said.

“This change, if implemented, would remove one of the most important ways that families and communities have a say in how their schools are governed. It

would also mean that important decisions about education could be made without appropriate public discussion, debate, and awareness.”

The issue is becoming more urgent, they said, as nominations for municipal council and school board elections are scheduled to open on May 1.

 

Asked about the group’s call for consultation, Calandra replied that his job as minister “isn’t to listen to people who want to advocate to maintain their position.”

“If it’s just about saving your job, that’s a non-starter, but if it’s about how we can make the system better, then we’ll listen,” he said.

Pressed on the government’s plans for trustees, Calandra said he hadn’t yet given the premier his suggestions for reform, adding that he would have a “whole host of options” for his cabinet colleagues to review.

“So that has yet to be decided,” he said. “But full-stop, if it’s not in the best interest of students, it’s not in the best interest of teachers delivering, then it is not a direction we’ll go in.”

The back-and-forth follows months of concerns being raised within the education sector about the possible elimination of trustees. It also comes after

dozens of trustees have been sidelined at several Ontario school boards placed under supervision.

Calandra has made a steady stream of changes since taking on the education file nearly one year ago.

About a month into his tenure, in April 2025, he issued a warning to school boards to focus “on what matters,” saying he would be “relentless in ensuring that our boards remain accountable to those that it matters most.”

A little over a week later, Calandra announced

he was taking control of the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) — the first of eight boards he’d place under provincial supervision within a

year — after officials used board funds for a nearly $40,000 stay at the Toronto Blue Jays stadium hotel during a three-day retreat in Toronto in August 2024.

The other boards that have since been taken over by the province include the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board (DPCDSB), Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB), Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB), Toronto District School Board (TDSB), Near North District School Board (NNDSB), Peel District School Board (PDSB) and York Catholic District School Board (YCDSB).

Calandra has defended his government’s decision to allow school board supervisors to bill for up to $350,000 per year, saying “it is the appropriate amount of money given the challenges that all of these boards face.”

Then last May, Calandra tabled Bill 33, the Supporting Children and Students Act, which passed in November and makes it easier for the education minister to take control of school boards by removing the need for him to wait for a third-party recommendation to do so.

Education unions, advocates and opposition parties spoke out against the legislation, saying it weakened transparency, removed democratic oversight and sidelined trustees, whom they called a “lifeline” for families.

By August, Calandra was musing about eliminating school trustees — again sparking backlash.

Accusing trustees of “wasting money,” Calandra has said boards “took massive surpluses that were supposed to be spent … in (the) classroom, and they turned those surpluses into deficits, they turned their school systems into battlegrounds between parents, teachers and students.”

The premier has also slammed school boards on different occasions, referring to them in September as “Taj Mahal school boards” and decrying expenses he said they were filing, including trips and “a pack of gum.”

Calandra criticized specific school board trustee expenses, telling reporters last fall about a TCDSB trustee “expensing meals at casinos” and downloading an Elvis Presley song.

The trustee, Maria Rizzo, who said she uses a wheelchair, is legally blind and has a hearing disability, denied that she “knowingly” downloaded the song.

While he originally said he hoped to share his decision on school board governance “by the end of this year,” Calandra indicated in December that a decision would come sometime early in 2026.

“I will be, obviously, in a position, when the legislature resumes, after the new year, to provide absolute clarity on where we’re going, but nothing has changed my mind right now that trustees are in any way the best way to deliver a $43-billion educational system,” Calandra said on Dec. 3, adding that

he wanted to ensure he’d done his “homework when it comes to Charter and constitutional rights” related to French-language and Catholic boards.

Ford and Calandra made the comments at a press conference at an Etobicoke school on Wednesday morning about giving elementary teachers their own $750 purchasing cards for school supplies.

Ford previously mused about giving Ontario teachers purchasing cards last November, saying it would allow educators to “actually go out and buy pencils and pens and paper, because the school board’s too busy wasting the money.”

“We know that many teachers have been paying out of pocket for supplies. That isn’t fair for teachers or students,” said Calandra in a news release. “While school boards receive funding for classroom resources, we have not always seen those dollars consistently reach every classroom. That is why we are putting funds directly in the hands of teachers to ensure their classrooms are equipped to support student achievement.”

The cards will allow teachers to buy supplies from the government’s central procurement agency, Supply Ontario, through a new provincial website.

Meanwhile, education unions are preparing for the next round of negotiations, with collective agreements for Ontario teachers and education workers expiring on Aug. 31 this year.

Asked if the cards were meant to “placate” teachers ahead of the negotiations, Ford replied that he found the question “insulting.”

“We don’t placate anyone,” he said.
— With files from Steve Cornwell and Jessica Smith Cross

Toronto Star March 12, 2026

Originally posted at https://www.google.ca/search?q=toronto+star+Ford+gives+trustees+hope+they+will+remain
Ford gives trustees hope they will remain
Nothing ruled out on board reform, premier insists

Kristin Rushowy Senior Writer Rob Ferguson Queen’s Park Bureau
Premier Doug Ford says “everything is on the table” when it comes to school board reform, a comment that could give trustees hope they will remain a part of the system.

Education Minister Paul Calandra had initially planned to announce changes to school governance by the end of last year, warning that could include getting rid of elected trustees, although he later said he needed more time to ensure the constitutional rights of Catholic and French trustees would not be affected.

Calandra – who has also stripped trustees of power and sent in provincial supervisors to an unprecedented eight school boards – said Wednesday he hasn’t “given the premier my suggestions yet for reform, so I’ll do that very soon, a whole host of options for the premier, and then to my cabinet colleagues.”

He added, “it depends on what we decide, but, full stop, if it’s not in the best interest of students, it’s not in the best interests of teachers … then it is not a direction we’ll go in.”

Kathleen Woodcock, president of the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association, said this is a good sign for Ontarians concerned about losing local voices and accountability in the operation of schools.

“I hope the premier has decided to listen to all the education sector when they’re saying this is not a path that really makes any sense for our students,” Woodcock told a news conference at the legislature.

She urged the government to “ensure any changes strengthen public education” and hold “broad consultations before advancing any legislative reforms” on school board governance.

At a time when several boards are under the ministry’s supervision, “without elected trustees, we are seeing critical decisions in several of our boards happening behind closed doors,” she said, adding the issue needs to be cleared up soon because nominations open May 1 for municipal elections being held across the province on Oct. 26.

A teacher union president at the news conference with Woodcock said if the government is backing down on any plan to cut trustees, it’s because word is spreading on the perils of doing so.

“It’s more than just pushback from the people in this room, it’s pushback from ordinary citizens in this province,” said David Mastin of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario.

“Parents sometimes don’t know where to turn, and their only avenue is through their locally elected trustees.”

Trustees are particularly important to parents of children with disabilities and can help with any accommodations needed, said David Lepofsky, chair of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance.

Calandra, who was with Ford at an Etobicoke elementary school announcing spending accounts for teachers on Wednesday morning, said “a lot of work” needs to happen at the eight boards now being run by provincial supervisors before local control is returned.

Those under supervision include five in the GTA – Toronto public and Catholic, Peel public, Dufferin-Peel Catholic and York Catholic.

“They are not going to be turned back until they are on the right path,” Calandra said.

“If it take us one year, two years, three years, 10 years – I don’t care. When they’re on the right path, when they are doing what’s in the best interest of our teachers, students and parents, and if there are still trustees, (then) we’ll turn them over.”

CTV News March 11, 2026

Originally posted at: https://www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/article/ford-wont-say-whether-ontario-school-board-trustees-will-be-on-the-ballot-in-the-fall/

Ford won’t say whether Ontario school board trustees will be on the ballot in the fall
By Joshua Freeman

Ontario Premier Doug Ford visits students at Highfield Junior Public School in Toronto on Wednesday, March 11, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is refusing to say whether school board trustees will be on the ballot when people across the province vote in municipal elections this coming fall.

“We’ll come out with an answer on that shortly,” Ford told reporters when asked about the matter at a news conference at an Etobicoke school Wednesday morning.

When asked if his government will move to eliminate trustees altogether, he said “I can’t confirm it right at this second. Everything’s on the table.”

Eight school boards in the province are currently under provincial supervision.

Education Minister Paul Calandra seized control of the boards – including the Toronto District School Board – over a variety of allegations, including financial mismanagement, infighting, and wasteful spending.

In the fall, the government passed legislation making it easier for the education minister to take over school boards, leading some to speculate the province could be looking to make sweeping changes to the school board system.

Calandra has promised that he will give certainty around the school board model when MPPs return to Queen’s Park later this month.

He said Wednesday that a decision is still being made.

“I haven’t given the premier my suggestions yet for reform, so I’ll do that very soon – a whole host of options for the premier and then to my cabinet colleagues” Calandra said at the same news conference.

“So that has yet to be decided, where we go from there. So it depends on what we decide. But full stop; if it’s not in the best interest of students, it’s not in best interest of teachers delivering, then it is not a direction we’ll go in.”

Asked how long the supervision of boards will continue, Calandra said it will not end until the ministry is satisfied that they are back on track.

“If it takes us one year, two years, three years, 10 years, I don’t care,” Calandra said. “When they are on the right path, when they are doing what’s in the best interest of our teachers, students and parents, and if there are still trustees, we’ll turn them over (to them).

“But regardless of what happens with the governance changes, I don’t see a world in which these eight boards that we have under our jurisdiction right now are turned over anytime. There’s a lot of work that has to happen in in these in these eight boards.”

Ontarians typically cast a ballot for local school board trustees when they vote for a city councillor and mayoral candidate. Local elections are set to be held across the province on Oct. 26.

Things getting worse for students under supervision: advocates
Meanwhile, a group of public education stakeholders held a news conference at Queen’s Park Wednesday, calling on the government to ensure democratic representation in the school system.

Minister Calandra’s, decisions to place school boards under supervision have significantly reduced the authority and role of democratically elected trustees, and comments about potentially eliminating them altogether, concentrating decision making power at Queen’s Park should concern us,” said ETFO President David Mastin said.

David Lepofsky, the chair of the Special Education Advisory Committee of the Toronto District School Board, said the ministry is slowly seizing more direct control over students, cutting out local accountability.

“750,000 Ontario students now have their education under the direct management of the minister’s office with no local democracy,” Lepofsky said. “That’s over a third of Ontario’s students in publicly funded schools. This is a form of creeping takeover.”

He said that instead of things getting better at those schools that have lost trustee representation, parents have been left with nowhere to turn if they are having difficulty getting proper school supports for their children.

“What we’ve seen from the point of view of kids with disabilities and special education needs is after six or more months under their supervision, things have not gotten one bit better. In fact, things have gotten appreciably worse,” Lepofsky said.

The group called on Calandra to undertake broad consultations with education partners before moving forward on reforms on school board governance. They said those consultations should include students and parents as well as families with students who have disabilities and subject matter experts. They said they also want to see the government table a detailed plan with clear goals for the return to regular oversight for schools under supervision.

MARCH 11, 2026 POST-NEWS CONFERENCE NEWS RELEASE BY THE ONTARIO PUBLIC SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION

SCHOOL BOARDS AND STAKEHOLDERS CALL FOR BROAD PROVINCE-WIDE GOVERNANCE CONSULTATION

DECISIONS THAT REMOVE LOCAL DEMOCRATIC REPRESENTATION MUST SUPPORT STUDENTS, FAMILIES, AND COMMUNITIES

Toronto, March 11, 2026 – Groups representing all aspects of publicly funded education in Ontario are expressing concerns about recent comments from Education Minister Paul Calandra regarding the potential elimination of elected school board trustees – a system of governance that has been in place longer than Canada has been a country. This change, if implemented, would remove one of the most important ways that families and communities have a say in how their schools are governed. It would also mean that important decisions about education could be made without appropriate public discussion, debate, and awareness.

The groups mentioned here above, are united in calling for the following:

• The government and Minister Calandra should undertake broad consultations with education partners before advancing any legislative reforms to school board governance.
• The consultation should include the voices and perspectives of students and parents – including parents of students with disabilities, school boards, education staff, and subject matter experts, and
• The government should outline a detailed plan with clear goals and benchmarks for the return to local democratic oversight at school boards currently under supervision.

“When decisions are being made about our children and their education, they must be made in public, open to public scrutiny,” said OPSBA President Kathleen Woodcock, also a trustee with the Waterloo Region District School Board. “The people making these decisions should be directly accountable to you, the public.”
The urgency of this issue increases daily, as nominations for municipal council and school board elections are slated to open on May 1, 2026.

Trustees have a key role in Ontario’s four publicly funded education systems. Without elected trustees, decisions about school closures, special education priorities, student supports, and the use or sale of public school land would be made behind closed doors, further away from the communities they affect. For example, in school boards currently under supervision, important decisions are regularly being made by a provincially appointed supervisor, who is accountable only to a minister at Queen’s Park, not to local families.

Public education shapes Ontario’s economy, communities, and future. Decisions about curriculum priorities, equity policies, mental health supports, and long-term capital planning require democratic oversight.

OPSBA has long stated its willingness to partner with the government in any dialogue or discussion about possible governance changes, and the groups making this statement share this approach. When government and partners in the sector come together to discuss and debate ideas openly and work through challenges collaboratively, we arrive at stronger public policy – and that is exactly the point of a healthy democracy.

Additional Quotes

“Ontario’s publicly funded education system depends on transparent governance, meaningful consultation and the voices of the communities schools serve. Principals and vice-principals value local democratic representation in supporting high quality learning environments and student success.”
Jeff Maharaj, President, Ontario Principals’ Council

« Depuis 25 ans, les conseils scolaires francophones sont au cœur du développement et de la vitalité de nos communautés. Ils permettent une gouvernance par et pour les francophones afin d’offrir une éducation qui reflète les réalités et les besoins de nos élèves et de leurs familles. Nous sommes solidaires avec l’Ontario Public School Boards’ Association (OPSBA) et croyons qu’il faut entreprendre une consultation authentique auprès de toutes les parties prenantes. Nous réitérons notre appui aux conseils scolaires francophones et demeurons préoccupés par toute proposition qui pourrait affaiblir cette représentation démocratique essentielle. »
Gabrielle Lemieux, Présidente de l’Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens 

“For the past 25 years, Francophone school boards have been at the heart of the development and vitality of our communities. They ensure governance by and for Francophones to provide an education that reflects the realities and needs of our students and their families. We stand in solidarity with the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association (OPSBA) and believe that a genuine consultation with all stakeholders must take place. We reaffirm our support for Francophone school boards and remain concerned about any proposal that could weaken this essential democratic representation.”
Gabrielle Lemieux, President, Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens 

“Trustees are a vital link parents and students rely on to advocate for their education needs. Important decisions that affect local schools should be made by local communities, not politicians at Queen’s Park. These school board takeovers are a distraction designed to hide years of severe underfunding that is having real impacts on Ontario classrooms.”
Chris Cowley, President, Ontario Teachers’ Federation

“Ontario has at least 330,000 K-12 students with disabilities. Too many are chronically vulnerable and underserved. Things have gotten worse for them at supervised school boards. Trustees were their last resort, short of litigation, for battling to get their child’s disability-related needs accommodated. The recently instituted Student and Family Support Offices are no replacement. The TDSB supervisor has raised permissible class sizes in ways that especially hurt students with disabilities. Without democratic accountability via trustees, school boards risk becoming more bureaucratic for parents and their children with disabilities.”
David Lepofsky, Chair, AODA Alliance, and Chair, Special Education Advisory Committee of the Toronto District School Board

“I personally experienced the negative impacts of government actions biased under the guise of knowing what is best for us as First Nations, as both my parents attended Residential School and I attended an Indian Day School. The Minister of Education’s proposal to eliminate elected school board trustees, which would sideline First Nation-appointed trustees represents a consequential retreat from reconciliation, democracy and due process on consultation. The Education Act, which allows for First Nation-appointed trustees on school boards, has recently been ignored as the minister has supervised school boards. First Nation-appointed trustees provide accountability for the financial transfer payments from First Nations to school boards and also provide oversight to ensure the negative impacts of the history of the Residential School system never happens again. Student well being, achievement and outcomes are important metrics that we should all aspire to achieve. I stand in solidarity with my elected trustee colleagues in a call to action to the Ontario government for appropriate consultation on how we can all improve on the most important work of student success and achievement in a democracy.”
Elaine Johnston, Chair, First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Trustees’ Council

“Strong oversight and governance protect students. When trustees are removed from their roles and equity structures are paused or reduced, the system’s ability to identify and correct race-based disparities is weakened.”
Debbie King, Chair, Black Trustees’ Caucus

“Effective and responsive school board governance originates from local communities. While provincial standards are necessary, centralized policies aren’t able to respond to the local realities that Ontario’s strong and diverse communities face. Centralized provincial mandates remove local voices and local choices. Having navigated similar challenges in Manitoba, I’ve learned that the most effective, responsive and accountable solutions are found in the community, not in centralized provincial mandates. One-size-fits-all education isn’t just inefficient – it is a disservice to the specific cultural and regional identities of students and families.”
Alan Campbell, President, Canadian School Boards Association

“For many families of children with disabilities, school trustees are not an abstract level of government — they are the person they call when their child is unable to access needed supports, a problem facing a large proportion of our community. With more than 350,000 students with disabilities in Ontario schools, data collected by the Ontario Autism Coalition showed that over 28% of children with special education needs required their parents to advocate on their behalf with their trustee at least once last year. This adds up to over 100,000 points of contact with democratically elected trustees. That kind of community connection and accountability cannot be replaced by a centralized system.”
Kate Dudley-Logue, Vice President, Community Outreach, Ontario Autism Coalition

“Parents are essential partners in public education, particularly when it comes to advocating for students with disabilities who rely on appropriate supports to access their learning. Locally elected trustees help ensure families have direct connections to the decisions that shape their children’s education”
Elizabeth Garkowski and Julia Evangelisto, Ontario Parents for Education Support

“Public education is a cornerstone of a democratic society. Democratic accountability requires that those most affected by decisions have a real and respected say in how those decisions are made. When governments sideline elected school board trustees, democratic principles are weakened, education systems are destabilized, and communities are silenced.” 
Harini Sivalingam, Director of Equality, Canadian Civil Liberties Association 

For more information, please contact:

Shane Gonsalves
Managing Director, Government and Public Affairs, OPSBA
sgonsalves@opsba.org

T.J. Goertz
Manager of Strategic Communications, OPSBA
tgoertz@opsba.org

Carter Peios
President, OSTA-AECO
carter.peios@osta-aeco.org

Carla Pereira
Coordinator, Communications & Political Action Services, ETFO
cpereira@etfo.org

Caitlin Reid
Media and Communications Advisor, OSSTF
Caitlin.Reid@osstf.ca

Marianne Raina
Director of Communications, AEFO
613-218-3702 or mraina@aefo.on.ca

Lori Horan
Director of Communications, Ontario Principals’ Council
lhoran@principals.on.ca

Ian Pettigrew
Secretary-Treasurer, OTF
ian.pettigrew@otffeo.on.ca

David Lepofsky
Volunteer Chair, AODA Alliance
aodafeedback@gmail.com

Kate Dudley Logue
Vice President, Community Outreach, Ontario Autism Coalition
Kate.Dudley-Logue@OntarioAutismCoalition.com

Elizabeth Garkowski and Julia Evangelisto
Co-founders, Ontario Parents for Education Support
ontarioparentsforeducation@gmail.com
Elizabeth: 647-225-8870
Julia: 647-992-2382

Canadian Civil Liberties Association
media@ccla.org