Most of the machinery that protects a disabled student in Ontario is built into the public system. It does not follow your child through a private school’s front door. One thing does.
Direct answer
Education Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.2 · Ontario Regulation 181/98: Identification and Placement of Exceptional Pupils · Human Rights Code, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19 · Policy on accessible education for students with disabilities · Verified 2026-10-23
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Private School Rights What your child keeps, and loses Most of the machinery that protects a disabled student in Ontario is built into the public system. A private school is not a school board. So the identification disappears, the written plan disappears, the committee disappears, the appeal disappears. The Human Rights Code is the protection that follows your child. That is a protection and it matters, but it works differently, and slowly. Human Rights Code Getting in is not the risk. Staying is. A contract may provide for ending the placement Another private school is not automatically required to take your child instead Seven questions to ask, and to get answered in writing Ask for the answers by email rather than in a meeting. Read the guide www.endthewaitontario.com/education/private-school-rights Sources: Education Act; Human Rights Code. Verified 2026-10-23
Download English captions (WebVTT)Families arrive at private school for good reasons. Usually it is because the public system has already failed their child: an unfilled educational assistant absence that became a shortened day, a placement that never suited, a year of asking. We are not going to pretend that system works well. Our own coverage of the Auditor General’s findings says otherwise.
But it is worth knowing precisely what you are trading. Almost all of the process that protects a disabled student in Ontario is attached to the public system. It is in the Education Act and the regulations under it, and it binds school boards. A private school is not a school board.
So the identification disappears, the written plan disappears, the committee disappears, the appeal disappears. What does not disappear is the Human Rights Code. That is a protection and it matters, but it works differently, and slowly.
| What is at stake | Publicly funded board | Private school | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Formal identification of your child’s needs | The Identification, Placement and Review Committee (IPRC) process identifies a student as exceptional and decides placement, with written reasons and a right to appeal. | No IPRC. There is no statutory identification process and no placement decision to appeal. | Ontario Regulation 181/98: Identification and Placement of Exceptional Pupils How the IPRC process works |
| A written plan for how your child is taught | An Individual Education Plan (IEP) is required for every identified student, must be reviewed each reporting period, and parents must be consulted. | No requirement to write an IEP at all. Some private schools write one voluntarily; that is a service commitment, not a legal duty, and it can change. | Ontario Regulation 181/98: Identification and Placement of Exceptional Pupils What an IEP must contain |
| A body that oversees special education | Every board must have a Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC), with parent representation, that reviews the board’s special education plan. | No SEAC. No equivalent oversight body, and no seat for parents. | Education Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.2 What SEAC does |
| Somewhere to appeal a decision about your child | Identification and placement decisions can be appealed to the Ontario Special Education Tribunal. Suspensions and expulsions carry appeal rights. | No tribunal. No statutory appeal from any decision the school makes about your child. | Ontario Regulation 181/98: Identification and Placement of Exceptional Pupils The Special Education Tribunal |
| Protection when the school wants your child gone | A publicly funded school must educate a resident student. Exclusions, suspensions and expulsions are governed by the Education Act and can be challenged. | The Education Act’s school-board IPRC, IEP, and discipline processes do not apply in the same way. Contract terms matter, and the Human Rights Code still protects against disability discrimination in education services; a Code claim may be brought to the HRTO. | Education Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.2 Exclusions and your rights |
| Protection from discrimination because of disability | The Ontario Human Rights Code applies. Failure to accommodate to the point of undue hardship is actionable at the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario. | The Code still applies. Private education is a service under section 1. A disability-related refusal or ending of a placement may engage the duty to accommodate and can be brought to the HRTO. | Human Rights Code, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19 Your child’s rights in school |
Most families worry about admission. Admission is a single conversation, and if it goes badly you find out immediately and keep looking.
That does not mean admission is unprotected. As the table above sets out, refusing a child because of their disability may itself be discrimination in the provision of a service, and is actionable.
But the harder problem is the exit. A private-school placement rests on a tuition contract, and a contract may provide for ending the placement. A private school does not use the public-board IPRC placement appeal route, though the Human Rights Code still applies and the contract may also give you rights. Another private school is not automatically required to take your child instead. If your child returns to the home board, ask how it will assess and support them during the transition.
That is the difference worth understanding: a public board’s identification and placement decisions follow a defined process with an appeal route. Private-school placement decisions do not use that route, though contract and human-rights remedies may apply.
This is also why a funding entitlement, if Ontario ever created one, would not by itself help. Money that follows a child to a school which need not admit them, need not keep them, and need not write a plan for them is not a placement. It is a subsidy. We looked into who is proposing that, and what we found →
For context on scale: of roughly 1,445 independent schools in Ontario, 57 emphasize special education, about 3.9% of the sector, on the count published by an organization that supports funding them. Some of those 57 schools are excellent, and this page is not an argument against them. It is an argument about what a family can enforce.
Naturally Diverse report on Ontario independent schools · Composition as of July 2022 | Updated 2026-10-23
A school that supports disabled students well will answer all of these readily. Hesitation on the last two is the signal worth paying attention to.
Ask for the answers by email rather than in a meeting. A written answer is what you will need later if the placement goes wrong.
This section explains what the law allows in general. It is not an assessment of your situation and it is not legal advice.
The Human Rights Code is the protection that follows your child. If a private school refused your child, or ended a placement, because of disability, rather than for a reason unrelated to it, that may be discrimination in the provision of a service, and it can be taken to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.
Two practical notes. Keep the record: emails, the contract, what you were promised about supports and by whom. And get advice early rather than late. The Human Rights Legal Support Centre and ARCH Disability Law Centre both provide free assistance, and there are time limits on applications.
If your child is returning to your home board, the identification process starts there. Start with the IPRC guide →
This page is general information about how Ontario’s education and human rights systems are structured. It is not legal advice, and it is not a comment on any particular school or any individual case.
No. The requirement to write and review an Individual Education Plan applies to publicly funded school boards. A private school may choose to write one, and many do, but it is a service commitment rather than a legal duty and it can change.
Private schools do not use the Education Act’s public-board IPRC placement appeal process. Contract terms govern many placement questions, but the Ontario Human Rights Code applies to education services, including private schools. A refusal to admit or decision to end a placement because of disability may be discrimination and can be brought to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.
Yes. Section 1 of the Ontario Human Rights Code guarantees equal treatment in services without discrimination because of disability, and a private school provides a service. The duty to accommodate to the point of undue hardship applies. What a private school does not have is the Education Act process around it: no IPRC, no mandatory IEP, no SEAC, and no Special Education Tribunal.
A funding entitlement is not a placement. Public money following a child to a school that is not obliged to admit them, not obliged to keep them, and not obliged to write a plan for them does not give the family anything they can enforce. Ontario does not currently provide direct public funding to private schools.
Written commitments are what you can act on later. Verbal reassurance is not.
| Date | Record | Publisher | Source type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Government source | Education Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.2 | Government of Ontario | Government source |
| Government source | Ontario Regulation 181/98: Identification and Placement of Exceptional Pupils | Government of Ontario | Government source |
| Government source | Human Rights Code, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19 | Government of Ontario | Government source |
| Government source | Policy on accessible education for students with disabilities | Ontario Human Rights Commission | Government source |
| 2021-09-15 Research source | Funding All Students: A Comparative Economic Analysis of the Fiscal Cost to Support Students in Ontario Independent Schools | Cardus | Research source |
| 2019-03-20 Research source | Funding Fairness for Students in Ontario with Special Education Needs | Cardus | Research source |
| 2001 Government source | O. Reg. 498/01: Equity in Education Tax Credit | CanLII | Government source |
| 2020-09-08 Community source | Bringing School Choice to Ontario | Fraser Institute | Community source |
| 2022-11-22 Research source | Naturally Diverse: The Landscape of Independent Schools in Ontario | Cardus | Research source |
| 1999-11-05 Government source | Waldman v. Canada, Communication No. 694/1996, CCPR/C/67/D/694/1996 | United Nations Human Rights Committee | Government source |
| 2026-01-30 Research source | Alberta Schools: Two-thirds say education system is ailing | Angus Reid Institute, in partnership with Cardus | Research source |
What rights do autistic students have in Ontario schools?
In Ontario, students with autism have the right to an Individual Education Plan (IEP) and reasonable accommodations without a formal diagnosis, based on need. Parents can request an IPRC meeting to identify their child as 'exceptional', guaranteeing specific rights to support services.
Source: Ontario Education Act · Open source record
Can my child get an IEP without an autism diagnosis?
You do NOT need a formal medical diagnosis to get an IEP (Individual Education Plan) in Ontario schools. Write to your principal requesting an IPRC meeting, state you have a 'medical referral in progress,' and focus on identifying your child's needs rather than diagnostic labels.
Source: Ontario Education Act
Can autistic students get an educational assistant (EA)?
School boards may assign educational assistants (EAs) to autistic students based on needs identified through the IEP process. How EAs are allocated varies by board and school, so ask the principal how support is assigned for your child.
Source: Ontario Ministry of Education — special education · Open source record
Sources on this page
Key claims are paired with their source, evidence tier, and verification date so readers can inspect the public record directly.
Under Ontario Regulation 181/98, an Identification, Placement and Review Committee (IPRC) can place a student in a special education program. Once that placement starts, the principal has 30 school days to make sure an Individual Education Plan (IEP) is completed. Ministry policy (PPM 140) also lets boards write IEPs for students who have not been formally identified by an IPRC
Check the author’s context, review method, and how to report an error.
Founder & Autism Advocate
Lived experience: Parent of autistic child in the OAP system