Needs of students with disabilities and special education go unmet: A letter to Minister Paul Calandra

The latest news from the Toronto DSB comes as part of a survey posted on its website asking for community opinions about what to prioritize in the 2026-27 budget. This is currently being prepared without the oversight of TDSB trustees who were unilaterally suspended at the end of last year. One of the survey questions asks responders to prioritize “Special Education Supports and Resources: educational assistants, specialized programs and assistive technology.” David Lepofsky, Chair of the TDSB Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) commented to the Toronto Star: “We’re livid, this is appalling.” He added: “The duty to provide effective (special education) funding is not an option, it’s not subject to a popularity contest.” It’s a requirement under the Education Act.

There are many deep concerns about the way special education is addressed at the TDSB. Here is a letter Lepofsky wrote letter Minister of Education, Paul Calandra last week:

 

February 25, 2026

To: The hon. Paul Calandra, Minister of Education minister.edu@ontario.ca

Ministry of Education

14th Floor, 315 Front Street West

Toronto, ON M7A 0B8

Canada

Dear Minister,

Re: Recurring Unmet Needs of K-12 Students with Disabilities/Special Education Needs

I write on behalf of the Toronto District School Board’s Special Education Advisory Committee SEAC. We seek your help for TDSB’s 40,000 students with disabilities/special education needs, because you are now the elected official with ultimate responsibility for TDSB operations while under provincial supervision.

Under longstanding provincial law, each school board must appoint a SEAC to advise it on the development and implementation of special education, including, among other things, on the board’s special education budget and Special Education Plan. Our SEAC members bring to bear extensive community connections and lived experience with the challenges in the school system facing students with disabilities/special education needs and their parents/guardians.

Too often, students with disabilities/special education needs face recurring barriers in Ontario’s K-12 schools. The Government received a comprehensive report over four years ago from a Government-appointed panel that extensively documented these barriers and recommended reforms to remove and prevent them. TDSB’s student population comes from Canada’s largest and most diverse city. The intersectional disadvantages that its students with disabilities/special education needs are thereby intensified.

Since the Government removed the TDSB’s school board trustees and appointed the provincial TDSB Supervisor, the situation facing TDSB students with disabilities/special education needs has not demonstrably improved. In several ways, things have gotten worse for them.

Please direct the TDSB Supervisor to attend TDSB SEAC meetings. The representatives of parents of students with disabilities/special education needs wish an opportunity to address him directly, to have him hear of their concerns and to work collaboratively with him on finding solutions.

Previously, we had trustees attending every SEAC meeting, some as members, and often, simply as interested trustees. At some of the school boards that the Ontario Government has taken control over, your appointed Supervisor has attended at least some of their SEAC meetings. In sharp contrast, the TDSB Supervisor has not attended any of the monthly TDSB Special Education Advisory Committee Meetings, even though he stepped into the shoes of the school board trustees. Several trustees were members of SEAC. The Supervisor has been invited to attend each of our monthly SEAC meetings since He assumed his role last year.

Since the Supervisor was appointed, we have raised several issues with him in writing that are major concerns for students with disabilities/special education needs. We have asked him to take action to address these concerns. He has not taken any of the actions that SEAC requested. He has given no reasons for this.

Under Ontario Regulation 464/97, the elected trustees must afford SEAC an opportunity to be heard before making a decision on a SEAC recommendation. Trustees make those decisions in public, after a SEAC representative gets a chance to address the trustees, also in public. Trustees’ discussions and decisions on any SEAC recommendation were conducted in public meetings, and live streamed to the public.

In contrast, in several cases, the provincial Supervisor has made adverse decisions on SEAC recommendations without affording SEAC a chance to be heard before the decision was made. Each such adverse decision was made behind closed doors. No reasons were given.

Making this worse, the provincial TDSB Supervisor has made decisions that are adverse to the needs of students with disabilities/special education needs, overturning earlier decisions of the trustees. He increased the maximum size of two categories of special education classes. He also overturned the ceiling of 32 students which the trustees had set for the size of any individual Grade 4 to 8 class. As long as TDSB maintains the overall average size of those classes, there is now no limit on the maximum size of any individual Grade 4 to 8 class. This can only hurt individual students with special education needs who are placed in a mainstream Grade 4 to 8 class.

TDSB’s SEAC has repeatedly emphasized that there is need for more staff to support the learning needs of students with disabilities/special education needs. TDSB budget officials have told SEAC every year that provincial funding for special education is less than the amount TDSB actually must spend to serve students with disabilities/special education needs. We have no indication that the provincial Supervisor has attempted to get any increase in provincial funding for TDSB.

It has become much harder for TDSB’s SEAC to reach parents of students with disabilities/special education needs. For years, TDSB live streamed SEAC meetings. This helped SEAC and TDSB staff reach more parents of students with disabilities/special education needs and get helpful feedback from them. It helped SEAC members, TDSB staff and members of the public who missed a SEAC meeting but want to see what happened at it. Last October, you banned TDSB from live streaming SEAC meeting. This has made things worse for parents of students with disabilities/special education needs.

Under the provincial Supervisor, TDSB has now cut back on the scope/content of its much-needed multi-year Special Education Review. This hurts students with disabilities/special education needs. SEAC was never consulted on this cutback, nor were parents of students with disabilities/special education needs. If anything, TDSB needs to far more inclusively involve SEAC in the plans for this Special Education Review and to expand that Review, not further limit it.

In SEAC’s experience, it is important for there to be broad public accountability for the management of TDSB. The removal of the trustees and the elimination of their public meetings substantially undermine this, to the disadvantage of all students, and especially to the disadvantage of vulnerable students with disabilities/special education needs. It would benefit students with disabilities/special education needs for there to be far stronger and more effective democratic oversight of the school board.

We urge you to broadly consult with parents of students with disabilities/special education needs, including with TDSB SEAC and other SEACs, about any future changes being considered to the governance and oversight of the publicly-funded school system. We are eager to work with you on this.

TDSB’s Student and Family Support Office requires important additions to ensure that it effectively serves the learning needs of students with disabilities/special education needs and the accessibility needs of parents with disabilities. A staff complement as low as two at the TDSB’s Student and Family Support Office, reported on City TV, is far too small to serve 250,000 students including 40,000 students with disabilities/special education needs. The Student and Family Support Office staff should have expertise in education of students with disabilities. The Student and Family Support Office should offer to accommodate the needs of parents with disabilities in using its services.

Any delay in rectifying this situation can only compound the disadvantages that these vulnerable students too often face. We seek your intervention now to repair this situation. We welcome any opportunity to assist you in doing so.

Sincerely,

David Lepofsky CM, O. Ont

Chair Toronto District School Board’s Special Education Advisory Committee

CC: Chairs of each Ontario school board’s Special Education Advisory Committee.

Denise Cole Deputy Minister of Education denise.cole@ontario.ca

Stacey Zucker, Interim TDSB Director of Education Stacey.zucker@tdsb.on.ca

Rohit Gupta TDSB Supervisor supervisor@tdsb.on.ca