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.
Suspensions follow Part XIII of the Education Act. The appeal clock is short. Written notice of your intention to appeal must reach the board's designated supervisory officer within 10 school days of the suspension start. A suspension can run from 1 to 20 school days. Before suspending, the school must consider Ontario Regulation 472/07 factors. This includes whether the behaviour came from a disability identified in your child's IEP. It also includes whether individualized accommodation was provided.
Check the clock first
Written notice of intention to appeal must be given within 10 school days of the start of the suspension (Education Act, s. 309(3)). Confirm the deadline with the board today.
Get the written notice
You should receive written notice of the suspension. If you only heard verbally, ask for the written notice immediately.
Ask about mitigating factors
Ask, in writing, how the school considered the O. Reg. 472/07 factors — including whether the behaviour was a manifestation of your child's disability and whether the IEP's accommodations were in place that day.
Ask for learning while out
Request schoolwork, assignments, and any suspension program available while your child is out. Ask who will send it and when.
Consider the appeal
A parent may appeal to the board; the board must hear the appeal within 15 school days of receiving your notice, and can confirm, shorten, or quash and expunge the suspension.
Please send me the written suspension notice. Before the suspension was decided, how were the mitigating factors in Ontario Regulation 472/07 considered — specifically, whether the behaviour was a manifestation of my child's disability identified in the IEP, and whether the accommodations in the IEP were in place at the time? Who is the board's designated supervisory officer for suspension appeals, and what is the deadline for my written notice of intention to appeal? Please reply in writing.
Suspension appeals go to the board — this is already a board-level process with a statutory deadline.
See the full escalation ladderSOURCE
Government of Ontario • 2024-01-01
SOURCE
e-Laws • 2008-02-01
SOURCE
Ontario Ministry of Education • 2018-12-19
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
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22.5%
Only 20,711 children have active funding agreements (22.5%), less than one in four
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