Direct answer
Ontario Education Act — Special Education Requirements (IPRC, IEP) · Ontario Regulation 472/07 — Behaviour, Discipline and Safety of Pupils (mitigating and other factors) · Policy/Program Memorandum 145 — Progressive Discipline and Promoting Positive Student Behaviour · Human Rights Code, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19 · Special Report: Special Education Needs · Verified 2026-07-04
- 1Understand what's happening
- 2Document it
- 3Send the letter
What this means
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.
What to do next
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.
What to record
- The written suspension notice and the date you received it
- The date the suspension started (the 10-school-day appeal clock runs from here)
- Whether the IEP's supports and accommodations were in place on the day of the incident
- Any incident reports, and your child's account, written down while fresh
- Every conversation with the school about the incident, confirmed in writing
If it doesn't resolve
Suspension appeals go to the board — this is already a board-level process with a statutory deadline.
See the full escalation ladderWhat not to rely on
- "You can deal with the appeal after things settle down."
- The notice of intention to appeal has a 10-school-day window from the start of the suspension. Waiting can close the door.
- "The behaviour speaks for itself — there's nothing to consider."
- O. Reg. 472/07 requires consideration of mitigating factors, including disability manifestation and whether accommodation was actually provided. Ask in writing how each factor was considered.
Common questions
Under the Education Act, s. 309(3), written notice of intention to appeal must be given to the board's designated supervisory officer within 10 school days of the start of the suspension. The board must then hear and decide the appeal within 15 school days of receiving your notice, unless everyone agrees to a later date.
Yes. Ontario Regulation 472/07 requires the school to consider mitigating and other factors. Ask whether the behaviour was linked to a disability identified in the IEP. Ask whether appropriate individualized accommodation was provided. PPM 145 also says interventions and consequences for students with special education needs must be consistent with the IEP.
Ask how your child will keep learning while out of school. Request assignments, schoolwork, and any suspension program available. Put the request in writing and ask who is responsible for sending the work.
The board can confirm the suspension, shorten it, or quash it and order the record expunged (Education Act, s. 309(10)). The board's decision is final (s. 309(11)) — for discrimination concerns beyond the suspension itself, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario is a separate route with its own one-year limit.
Legal authority for this page
| Date | Record | Publisher | Source type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-01-01 | Ontario Education Act — Special Education Requirements (IPRC, IEP) | Government of Ontario | Government source |
| 2008-02-01 | Ontario Regulation 472/07 — Behaviour, Discipline and Safety of Pupils (mitigating and other factors) | e-Laws | Government source |
| 2018-12-19 | Policy/Program Memorandum 145 — Progressive Discipline and Promoting Positive Student Behaviour | Ontario Ministry of Education | Government source |
| 1990-01-01 | Human Rights Code, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19 | e-Laws | Government source |
| 2026-05-12 | Special Report: Special Education Needs | Government of Ontario | Government source |
Last updated: 2026-07-04