Education Rights
Your child cannot attend school in the usual way, for a medical or psychological reason. Schools sometimes respond as though this is truancy or a behaviour problem. It is neither, once there is documentation. A documented, disability-related barrier to attendance triggers the school's duty to accommodate.
Send this to the principal by email, with your clinician's documentation attached, so there is a dated written record.
Subject: Requesting a written accommodation/reintegration plan — [Child's name] Dear [Principal's name], [Child's name] has a documented medical/psychological reason for their current difficulty attending school, as set out in the attached letter from [clinician name/role]. I am requesting that the school develop a written accommodation or reintegration plan addressing this. Specifically, I am asking the school to: - Confirm receipt of this request and the attached clinical documentation - Propose a written plan (for example: modified hours, a phased return, or sensory/environmental accommodations) within a reasonable timeframe - Schedule a meeting to discuss the plan Please respond in writing. I am keeping a dated record of all communication on this issue. Thank you, [Your name] [Date]
A starting point to adapt with your own details — not legal advice.
What governs this, and what we recommend
The Ontario Human Rights Code requires schools to accommodate disability-related barriers to attendance to the point of undue hardship. The Education Act requires boards to provide special education programs and services for their exceptional pupils.
Documented school refusal should be treated as a disability accommodation request from the first written contact, not after weeks of informal back and forth. This is our recommendation, not a guaranteed outcome.
Keep these records
Every rung of the escalation ladder below will ask what you documented and when.
Note the date, who initiated it (you, the school, or your child), and what was said. A dated chronology is what every rung of the escalation ladder will ask you for.
After any phone call, send a same-day follow-up email summarizing what was discussed. This turns a verbal exchange into a written record you can reference later.
Keep a copy of the assessment or letter from your child's pediatrician, psychologist, or OAP-affiliated clinician that explains the medical or psychological basis for the refusal.
Keep the most recent Individual Education Plan on hand. Any reintegration or accommodation plan should reference it, and gaps between the IEP and what is actually happening are evidence.
Work with your child's clinician, pediatrician, psychologist, or OAP team, to document the medical or psychological reason for school refusal in writing. This creates the legal basis for accommodation.
Bring the clinical documentation to the school and formally request that a reintegration or accommodation plan be developed. Submit this request by email to the principal so there is a record.
Ask the school to consider partial days, modified environments, sensory accommodations, or a phased return schedule. The specific approach should match what the clinical documentation recommends.
If the principal does not respond with a concrete plan within a reasonable timeframe, escalate to the board's Superintendent of Special Education in writing. Reference the school's duty to accommodate under the Ontario Human Rights Code.
If the school does not respond
A condensed path from principal to formal complaint. The full ladder, with letter templates for every step, is at the School Support Navigator.
Step 1 — School principal
Send the clinical documentation and a written request for an accommodation or reintegration plan to the principal by email. Most school-refusal cases resolve at this level once there is a dated, written record.
Governing source: Ontario Human Rights Code — duty to accommodate a disability-related barrier.
Step 2 — Superintendent of Special Education
If the principal does not respond with a concrete plan within a reasonable timeframe, forward your correspondence to the board's Superintendent of Special Education and ask for a written response.
Governing source: Education Act, s. 170(1) para. 7 — boards must provide special education programs and services.
Step 3 — Board, Ombudsman, or HRTO
If the board still does not act, an IPRC review, a complaint to Ombudsman Ontario, or a human rights application to the HRTO are the formal next steps. Each has its own process and deadlines.
The children in these classrooms
School-age children make up the majority of families waiting for OAP services.
Registered
89,799Children registered
Total in the Ontario Autism Program queue
MCCSS FOI · Mar 2026
Funded
20,633Have active funding
Only 23% of registered children
MCCSS FOI · Mar 2026
Waiting
69,166Still waiting
Registered. Diagnosed. Un-funded.
MCCSS FOI · Mar 2026
Verified , MCCSS FOI · Mar 2026
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Children registered | 89,799 |
| Have active funding | 20,633 |
| Still waiting | 69,166 |
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 · Verify Link
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 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
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 1 in 50 children and youth aged 1 to 17 in Canada had an autism diagnosis
23%
Only 20,633 children have active funding agreements (23%) — 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