Education Guide
Case file
What's happening
Educational Assistants (EAs) provide direct support to students with special education needs in Ontario schools. For autistic students, an EA can be critical for classroom participation, behaviour support, and safety. However, parents have no automatic right to a dedicated 1:1 EA. The allocation of EA support is at the school board's discretion, guided by the student's Individual Education Plan (IEP) and school-level staffing decisions.
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
No — allocation is at board/school discretion
Guaranteed 1:1 EA for autistic students
Ontario Ministry of Education — Special Education Guide
$3.37 billion province-wide
Special Education Grant (2024-25)
Ontario Ministry of Education — Education Funding Guide
IEP describes support type, not specific EA hours
IEP EA requirement
Ontario Ministry of Education — IEP Standards
1 year from the date of discrimination
OHRT complaint filing deadline
Ontario Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario
Guide
School boards receive Special Education Grant funding from the Ontario Ministry of Education. This funding covers EA salaries, among other costs. Boards decide how to distribute EA hours across schools and students.
There is no provincial standard guaranteeing a specific ratio of EAs to students. Each board sets its own model. Some assign EAs to individual students. Others assign EAs to classrooms or programs. The principal, in consultation with the special education team, determines allocation at the school level.
The student's IEP may include EA support as an accommodation. However, the IEP does not specify the number of EA hours. It describes the type of support needed, not the staffing model.
Guide
Parents have the right to participate in IEP development. They can advocate for EA support to be included in the IEP. They can also request an IPRC (Identification, Placement, and Review Committee) meeting to discuss their child's needs.
If a parent disagrees with the level of EA support, they can request a meeting with the principal and special education coordinator. Boards have internal complaint processes. Parents can also contact the Ontario Ombudsman if the board is not following its own policies.
The Ontario Human Rights Code requires that students receive accommodation to the point of undue hardship. If a student cannot safely participate in school without EA support, the board may be legally obligated to provide it.
Guide
EA hours can change from year to year or even mid-year. Budget constraints, staffing shortages, and changing student populations all affect allocation. Parents are not always notified before changes take effect.
If EA hours are reduced, document the impact on your child immediately. Note specific incidents, missed learning opportunities, and safety concerns. Request a meeting with the principal in writing. Escalate to the superintendent if the school-level response is insufficient.
In some cases, filing a human rights complaint may be necessary. The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal can order a board to provide accommodations, including EA support, if the board has failed in its duty to accommodate.
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
Special Education in Ontario: Policy and Resource Guide (ontario.ca/education)
Ontario Human Rights Commission
Policy on Accessible Education for Students with Disabilities (ohrc.on.ca)
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