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)
School Support
Plain-language school guidance, the record to keep, and the next step available to your family.
A "modified day" means your child attends school for less than the full day. It might be an hour, a morning, or a few afternoons. Schools often call it temporary support. Under the Human Rights Code, your child has the right to equal treatment in education. The board must accommodate disability to the point of undue hardship. The Ontario Human Rights Commission describes accommodation as a shared, ongoing process. Ask for the written rationale. Record whether you agree. Get review dates and a real plan back to full-time. Without those, "temporary" can become the whole school year.
Ask for the rationale in writing
Why a shortened day, who decided, and is it recorded in the IEP?
Ask for the return plan
Request a dated, step-by-step plan back to a full day, with review dates and the supports needed at each step.
Track the hours
Log the hours your child actually attends each day. Missed instructional time, with dates, is the core record.
Ask what happens meanwhile
Request interim accommodations, missed schoolwork, review dates, and the next step if the school will not give a dated return plan.
Send the modified-day letter
The generated letter below asks for the rationale, the record of your agreement, and the return plan.
I want to understand the shortened day. What is the written rationale, and is it in the IEP? Am I recorded as having agreed to this? What supports would my child need to attend full-time, and what is preventing them from being in place? Can you give me a dated plan to return to a full day, with review dates? Please reply in writing.
Raise it with the principal in writing first; escalate if there is no written return plan after your request.
See the full escalation ladderSOURCE
Ontario Human Rights Commission • 2018-03-01
SOURCE
Government of Ontario • 2024-01-01
Last updated: 2026-07-04
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)
91,974
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
22.5%
Only 20,711 children have active funding agreements (22.5%), 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