Educational Assistant Shortages: Impact on Autistic Students

Your Right to Participate

EA allocation is a school-level decision, but you are entitled to be part of the conversation about how it affects your child's IEP.

• →You can request, and attend, any IEP meeting where EA hours or support are discussed — including amendment meetings called specifically to address a reduction in support.
• →You can bring an advocate, support person, or professional (such as a clinician) to any meeting about your child's support.
• →You can ask for the agenda and any proposed changes in writing before a meeting, and request a written summary of the outcome afterward.

Escalation Ladder

Start at step one. Move to the next step only once you have given the current step a documented, written chance to respond.

1. 1

   Ask the teacher or EA directly, in writing

   Email the classroom teacher (or the EA, if you have contact) the same day EA support is missing or reduced. Ask what happened and whether it is a one-time gap or ongoing.

2. 2

   Request an IEP amendment meeting

   Write to the principal asking for a meeting to review the EA support written into the IEP against what is actually being provided. Ask for a written response within a set number of school days.

3. 3

   Escalate to the board's special education supervisor

   If the principal does not resolve the gap, put the request in writing to the school board's special education department. Reference the dates you already documented and the IEP meeting outcome.

4. 4

   Contact the Ontario Human Rights Commission

   If EA support remains inadequate despite the steps above and it is affecting your child's access to education, the OHRC can provide guidance on the duty to accommodate. This is informational, not a guarantee of a specific outcome.