Education Guide
Case file
What's happening
Behaviour support plans (BSPs) are proactive, individualized documents that outline strategies for preventing challenging behaviour, teaching replacement skills, and responding to behaviour incidents in school. For autistic students, effective BSPs are built on an understanding of the function of behaviour — recognizing that all behaviour is communication. This guide helps parents participate meaningfully in BSP development.
Ask for it in writing today
Whatever you decide to request, put it in writing and date it — a verbal answer leaves no record. The School Support Navigator can draft a letter for your specific situation.
What records to keep
A dated log of calls, emails, and meetings matters more than memory once a dispute runs past a few weeks. The Parent Documentation Toolkit walks through what to track.
The rule or duty that applies
2 governing sources for this topic, listed below with what each one covers.
The escalation ladder
If the first request does not resolve it, there is a standard next step — from the school, up through the board, to the Ombudsman and the Tribunal.
The evidence
4 verified figures for this topic, sourced below.
What to do next
A short list of concrete next actions, including where to raise this with your MPP.
Evidence
School boards must have policies on professional misconduct and progressive discipline
PPM 144 requirement
Ontario Ministry of Education, PPM 144
PPM 145 requires progressive discipline with positive supports
Positive behaviour support mandate
Ontario Ministry of Education, PPM 145
Recommended before developing any behaviour support plan
FBA best practice
Ontario Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health
Limited suspensions for JK-Grade 3 students; mitigating factors required
Suspension restrictions
Ontario Education Act, Section 306(4)
Guide
Autistic students may exhibit challenging behaviour in school for reasons that are not immediately obvious. Behaviours such as leaving the classroom, refusing to work, aggression, self-injury, or meltdowns are often responses to sensory overload, communication frustration, unmet needs, anxiety, or demands that exceed the student's current skills. A behaviour support plan must identify and address the underlying cause, not just the surface behaviour.
Functional Behaviour Assessment (FBA) is the evidence-based process for understanding why a behaviour occurs. An FBA examines the antecedents (what happens before the behaviour), the behaviour itself, and the consequences (what happens after). This analysis reveals the function of the behaviour — escape, attention, access to a preferred item, or sensory regulation — and guides the selection of effective supports.
Guide
A comprehensive BSP should include: a description of the target behaviours in observable and measurable terms, results of the FBA identifying the function of each behaviour, prevention strategies (environmental modifications, schedule changes, sensory supports), replacement behaviours the student will be taught (functionally equivalent alternatives), response strategies for when the behaviour occurs, and a data collection plan to monitor progress.
Effective BSPs are positive and proactive — they focus more on what to do than on what not to do. They include teaching the student new skills, modifying the environment to reduce triggers, and providing positive reinforcement for appropriate behaviour. Punitive approaches (loss of recess, isolation, restraint) should be avoided except in genuine safety emergencies, and even then, used minimally.
Guide
Parents have the right to be involved in the development and review of their child's BSP. Request a copy of the current BSP and FBA. If a formal FBA has not been conducted, request one. You can provide input on triggers, effective strategies from home, and your child's preferences and communication style. You can also request that your child's external behaviour consultant or BCBA participate in BSP development.
If you are concerned about how behaviour is being managed — particularly if your child is being restrained, isolated, or excluded from activities — request a meeting immediately. Ontario school boards have policies on the use of physical restraints and seclusion that must be followed. You have the right to be notified of any such incidents and to request a review of the BSP.
Escalation ladder
This is general information, not legal advice, and no outcome is guaranteed at any rung. It is the same escalation path used across End The Wait Ontario's School Support Navigator.
Put your concern in writing to the principal. Most issues resolve at this level once there is a dated, written record — and every later rung will ask what you raised here.
If the principal does not respond in writing or the issue continues, escalate to the board's superintendent responsible for special education, attaching your correspondence with the school.
The board level: the Director of Education, and in parallel the board's SEAC (Special Education Advisory Committee) for systemic issues. Suspension appeals also live here — with a 10-school-day notice window (Education Act, s. 309(3)).
Since September 1, 2015, the Ontario Ombudsman takes complaints about school boards. It reviews how the board handled your concern — bring your dated chronology and the record of the steps you already took.
The HRTO hears applications about discrimination, including disability discrimination in education services. Applications must be filed within one year of the incident (or the last in a series) — Human Rights Code, s. 34(1). This site provides general information only; get advice from the Human Rights Legal Support Centre (hrlsc.on.ca) or a lawyer before filing.
Questions
Governing rule
Ontario Ministry of Education
PPM 145: Progressive Discipline and Promoting Positive Student Behaviour (ontario.ca/education)
Ontario Ministry of Education
Caring and Safe Schools in Ontario: Supporting Students with Special Education Needs
Continue Reading
Written by Spencer Carroll
Founder & Autism Advocate
Evidence on this page
Key claims are paired with their source, evidence tier, and verification date so readers can inspect the public record directly.
Under the Ontario Education Act, every student with special needs is entitled to an Individual Education Plan (IEP) and access to an Identification, Placement and Review Committee (IPRC)
89,799
children are registered in the Ontario Autism Program
1 in 50
According to the 2019 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth, about children and youth aged 1 to 17 in Canada had an autism diagnosis
23%
Only 20,633 children have active funding agreements — less than one in four
WHO recommends accessible, community-based early interventions for children with autism — timely evidence-based psychosocial interventions improve communication and social engagement