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If your child's IEP includes educational assistant (EA) support, that support is part of the special education services the board is required to provide (Education Act, s. 170(1) para. 7; O. Reg. 181/98, s. 6(3)(b)). In practice, EA absences often go unfilled — the Auditor General found EAs were absent an average of 18% of school days in 2023/24, with roughly half to three-quarters of those absences unfilled at sampled boards. Support that exists on paper but not in the classroom is the gap to document: which days, what happened instead, and what it cost your child.
Compare paper to practice
Put the IEP's support description next to what actually happens each day. The difference is your record.
Ask for same-day notification
Ask the school to tell you, the same day, whenever your child's scheduled support is not available.
Track missed-support days
Log every day support was reduced or absent, and what happened to your child's day as a result.
Send the EA support letter
The generated letter asks for the delivery plan, the absence protocol, and the school's own record of missed days.
The IEP sets out support for my child. What support is actually scheduled, day by day? What happens when the assigned EA is absent or the position is vacant — who covers, and how is my child supported that day? How will I be told, same-day, when scheduled support is not available? Can you provide the record of days this year when scheduled support was not provided? Please reply in writing.
Answer four short questions and the Navigator generates this topic's letter with your details filled in, your incident chronology attached, and every legal reference cited — in Plain or Firm tone.
Build my plan and lettersStart with the principal; if missed support continues, the superintendent letter cites the board's duty to provide the services in the IEP.
See the full escalation ladderSOURCE
Government of Ontario • 2024-01-01
SOURCE
e-Laws • 1998-04-01
Last updated: 2026-07-04
Verified Facts
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