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Education Series
Ontario spends $3.71 billion on special education annually. When a school says they don't have the budget for an EA, here is what they are not telling you.
the Special Education Grant carried approximately $3.71 billion (2024-25), and most families never see where it goes.
Registered
91,97491,974Children registered
Total registered in the Ontario Autism Program
MCCSS Ontario Autism Program figures, May 13, 2026, obtained by the Ontario Autism Coalition under Freedom of Information
Funded
20,71120,711Have active funding
Only 22.5% of registered children
MCCSS Ontario Autism Program figures, May 13, 2026, obtained by the Ontario Autism Coalition under Freedom of Information
Without active agreement
71,26371,263Without an active funding agreement
An administrative status; it does not confirm current service delivery.
MCCSS Ontario Autism Program figures, May 13, 2026, obtained by the Ontario Autism Coalition under Freedom of Information
Verified , MCCSS FOI via OAC · May 2026
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Children registered | 91,974 |
| Have active funding | 20,711 |
| Without an active funding agreement | 71,263 |
The foundation of special education funding. Every school board receives a per-pupil amount for special education, regardless of how many formally identified exceptional students they have. This funds:
Key insight: SEPPA is formula-based. Boards cannot claim they "didn't receive enough", every board gets the same per-pupil rate. The question is how they allocate it.
Extra funding for students with extraordinarily high needs. Approximately $27,000 annually per eligible student (as commonly cited; confirm with your board), enough to fund about half an EA position.
Eligibility criteria:
Parent action: Ask "Has a SIP claim been submitted for my child?" If yes, that confirms the board recognizes your child's needs are severe. If no, ask why not.
Funds specialized equipment for individual students, separate from staffing. This covers:
Key: The school board applies for SEA claims on behalf of the student. If your child needs specialized equipment, request it through the IEP process and ask whether an SEA claim has been filed.
"We don't have the budget for a dedicated EA."
The board received Special Education Grant funding. They chose to allocate EA hours differently. Ask for the allocation breakdown.
"EA support is assigned to schools, not students."
This is true procedurally. But the Human Rights Code requires accommodation to the point of undue hardship. If your child's safety needs require dedicated support, the duty to accommodate overrides internal allocation practices.
"The Ministry doesn't fund enough for all students."
While total funding may be insufficient system-wide, the question is whether your board is spending its special education grant on special education. Boards have historically redirected these funds.
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Related Resources
Can autistic students get an educational assistant (EA)?
VerifiedSchools may assign EAs based on IEP needs, but 47% of families report insufficient supports. EA availability varies by board and often fails to match clinical needs, leaving many autistic students without necessary classroom support.
Source: Ontario Education Act & OAC · Open source record
Evidence on this page
Key claims are paired with their source, evidence tier, and verification date so readers can inspect the public record directly.
$965M
Ontario allocated $965M to the Ontario Autism Program in 2026-27
According to the FAO (2020 report), OAP funding covers less than one-third of estimated need at 2018-19 service levels
91,974
children are registered in the Ontario Autism Program
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)
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Founder & Autism Advocate