Can I request a safety plan for my autistic child?
Yes. If your child is a flight risk or has safety concerns, you can formally request a "Safety Plan" as part of their IEP. This document outlines supervision ratios, transition protocols, and emergency responses. It is a critical legal document for accountability.
Source: Policy/Program Memorandum 140/156
What is section 265(1)(m) of Ontario's Education Act?
Section 265(1)(m) of Ontario's Education Act allows a principal to "refuse to admit to the school or classroom a person whose presence in the principal's judgment would be detrimental to the physical or mental well-being of the pupils." Unlike suspension, this exclusion has no time limit, no documentation requirement, no mandatory alternative supports, and no equivalent procedural safeguards. ARCH Disability Law Centre argues it was never intended to apply to students.
Source: Ontario Education Act, R.S.O. 1990; ARCH Disability Law Centre "Invented Power" (2017) · Verify Link
What rights do parents have if their child is excluded from school in Ontario?
Parents can: (1) request written reasons for any exclusion, (2) appeal s.265(1)(m) exclusions to the school board, (3) request an IPRC meeting under Regulation 181/98, (4) cite the OHRC Policy on Accessible Education requiring accommodation to undue hardship, (5) file an HRTO complaint for discrimination in education services, (6) contact the Ontario Ombudsman. The Supreme Court in Moore v. BC (2012 SCC 61) held special education is "not a dispensable luxury."
Source: OHRC Policy on Accessible Education (2018); Moore v. British Columbia, 2012 SCC 61 · Verify Link
Incident response
Immediate safety
Physical safety comes first. If your child or another student is in danger, that is an emergency response, not a documentation one — call the school office directly, or 911 if there is immediate risk of injury.
Before memory fades: date, time, what happened before the incident, what happened during it, who was present, and what staff did. This log is the record you will use in every later step.
Whatever the school tells you by phone or in person, request written confirmation by email the same day. Ontario Education Act does not extinguish a verbal explanation just because it wasn't written — but only a written record survives a dispute.
Governing sources
A behaviour plan sits at the intersection of a regulation, a ministry memo, and a human rights duty. Knowing which is which changes what you can insist on in writing.
Before any discipline, the board must consider mitigating and other factors — including whether the behaviour was a manifestation of a disability identified in the student's IEP, and whether appropriate individualized accommodation was actually provided.
For students with special education needs, interventions, supports, and consequences must be consistent with the student's IEP. PPM 145 also directs boards toward progressive discipline and away from exclusion as a first response.
The board must accommodate a student's disability to the point of undue hardship. A behaviour plan that ignores a documented disability need can itself be a Code issue.
There is no Ontario statute that mandates a document literally titled "safety plan." A written plan is how boards commonly operationalize the duties above — request one in writing rather than relying on a verbal understanding.
SOURCE
Government of Ontario • 2008
Before disciplining a student, the board must consider mitigating and other factors, including whether the behaviour was a manifestation of a disability identified in the student's IEP.
SOURCE
Ontario Ministry of Education • 2018
For students with special education needs, interventions, supports, and consequences must be consistent with the student's IEP.
SOURCE
Government of Ontario • 1990
The board must accommodate a student's disability to the point of undue hardship.
Escalation ladder
Each rung assumes the one before it did not get a written answer within a reasonable time. Work through them in order — each escalation is stronger when it references the written record from the step before.
Email the principal and copy the special education lead. Ask for a School Support Team meeting to develop or update a written behaviour support and safety plan. Reference PPM 145 and your child's IEP.
If the school does not respond within about five business days, or the plan is not put in writing, contact the special education department at the board level and reference the earlier written request.
If the board level does not resolve it, put the full written history — your requests, their responses, the incident log — in front of the superintendent responsible for the school, and copy your trustee.
The Ombudsman reviews how school boards handle complaints. If the plan issue is really a failure to accommodate a documented disability, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario is the venue for a Human Rights Code claim — this is a serious step with its own process and timelines.
Evidence & templates
Keep this log even for incidents that seem minor. A pattern is often what a board or tribunal responds to — a single event rarely is.
A meeting-request letter for a behaviour support and safety plan, with the fields you need to fill in marked in brackets.
Subject: Request for Behaviour Support and Safety Planning Meeting — [child], [grade] 2026-08-18 To: The Principal (copy: Special Education Lead) [your school board] Re: Behaviour support and safety planning for [child] Dear Principal, I am writing to request a meeting to develop (or update) a written behaviour support and safety plan for my child, [child] ([grade]). My understanding of the current situation is: [describe the behaviour or incident that prompted this request] No formal supports are currently in place. Policy/Program Memorandum 145 requires that, for students with special education needs, interventions, supports and consequences be consistent with the student's IEP. Ontario Regulation 472/07 requires consideration of mitigating and other factors before discipline — including whether the behaviour was a manifestation of a disability identified in the student's IEP, and whether appropriate individualized accommodation was provided. The Ontario Human Rights Code, section 11, requires the board to accommodate my child's disability to the point of undue hardship. At the meeting, I would like us to agree in writing on: 1. The proactive supports and environmental changes that reduce the likelihood of incidents. 2. The de-escalation strategies staff will use, consistent with [child]'s IEP. 3. Exactly what happens, step by step, if an incident occurs — including how and when I am contacted. 4. How incidents will be documented and shared with me. 5. A review date for the plan. Please propose a meeting date in writing within five (5) business days, and please provide the finished plan to me in writing. Sincerely, [Parent/Guardian Name] [Address] [Phone] [Email] --- Citations --- • Policy/Program Memorandum 145 — for students with special education needs, interventions, supports and consequences must be consistent with the student's IEP • Ontario Regulation 472/07, ss. 2–3 — mitigating and other factors before discipline, including whether the behaviour was a manifestation of a disability identified in the pupil's IEP • Ontario Human Rights Code, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19, s. 11 — duty to accommodate to the point of undue hardship
--- IMPORTANT: This template is for educational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Every family's situation is unique. For complex matters, consider consulting: • ARCH Disability Law Centre (free): archdisabilitylaw.ca • Human Rights Legal Support Centre (free): hrlsc.on.ca • Law Society Referral Service: lsrs.ca • Community Legal Aid in your area End The Wait Ontario is an advocacy organization, not a law firm.
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)
91,974
children are registered in the Ontario Autism Program
1 in 50
According to the 2019 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth, about 1 in 50 children and youth aged 1 to 17 in Canada had an autism diagnosis
22.5%
Only 20,711 children have active funding agreements (22.5%), 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