This document constitutes a return to school direction issued by the Ministry of Education and approved by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health for the purposes of regulations made under the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID‑19) Act, 2020.

The following sections were updated as part of version 5 of this guidance:

For the 2021-22 school year, the Ministry of Education will continue to focus on supporting the health, safety and well-being of students, families and staff. Based on advice from the Chief Medical Officer of Health, schools are permitted to open for in-person learning with health and safety measures in place for the 2021-22 school year.

The government will monitor the COVID‑19 situation, including ongoing risks related to variants of concern (VOCs), and alignment with broader provincial guidance and direction. The ministry will continue to work with the Chief Medical Officer of Health and local public health units (PHUs) to assess key measures to inform and update provincial guidance and direction, including lifting measures when appropriate. Local public health units may require additional or enhanced health and safety measures based on local experience and data. Medical officers of health in local public health units also have statutory powers under the Health Protection and Promotion Act, which they may use to address outbreaks or risks of COVID‑19 transmission in schools.

A measured approach to reopening schools is important to support schools to maximize health and safety as places to work and learn and remain open to in-person learning for the full school year.

Students will attend in-person learning daily for the full school day (five instructional hours) in elementary and secondary schools across the province. As noted in Memorandum 2021:B07 Planning for the 2021-22 School Year, remote learning will remain an option.

Guidance shared with school boards and schools in May 2021 on planning for the 2021-22 school year (PDF) (memo 2021: B07) outlined information and direction related to COVID‑19 funding supports for publicly funded schools, remote learning, cohorting/timetabling, learning recovery and renewal, community involvement graduation requirement, online learning requirement, literacy graduation requirement and Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test, EQAO assessments, Specialist High Skills Major, Cooperative Education, assessment, evaluation and reporting, Early Development Instrument, online support for students and additional measures to provide flexibility in school board operations. Guidance outlined in May 2021 is still in effect. The following guidance provides additional information on health and safety measures for the 2021-22 school year.

The ministry encourages school boards and schools to continue to work closely with their local public health units on their reopening plans and throughout the 2021-22 school year.

Learning recovery and renewal

The COVID‑19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the delivery of education in Ontario and across the globe over the past two school years. School boards, educators, students and their families have demonstrated resiliency and flexibility in responding to changes in their learning environments.

While the COVID‑19 pandemic has affected students differently, there are key themes emerging including the need to focus on student mental health and well-being, supports for early reading and math and the re-engagement of students. These themes make up the foundation of Ontario's plan to support learning recovery and renewal. The ministry is working with school boards to support these priorities.

Educators will continue to assess students' strengths and areas of need throughout the school year at key instructional times to support students in building foundational knowledge in advance of new content.

Learning recovery and renewal has been supported with significant investments, including Ontario's largest summer learning programs offered in 2020 and 2021. More elementary students participated in literacy and math programs, and the number of students who earned credits in summer school increased by nearly 25%. Free online tutoring services are available for students and over 85,000 students have accessed these services annually. Additional resources and training will be available for educators to support their students' learning recovery and renewal this school year.

Purpose and application

This document constitutes a return to school direction issued by the Ministry of Education and approved by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health for the purposes of regulations made under the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID‑19) Act, 2020.

It applies to schools (publicly funded and private schools) where regulations made under the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID‑19) Act, 2020 require schools to operate in accordance with a return to school direction in order to open. Schools should ensure that they continue to review and comply with this Act and any other legislation.

This direction will be re-evaluated regularly and, where required, updated based on public health advice throughout the 2021-22 school year.

School boards and schools (publicly funded and private schools) are expected to employ multiple strategies and a layering of controls to support healthy and safer environments for students and staff as detailed below.

Elementary

Elementary schools have reopened with conventional in-person delivery of learning, with enhanced health and safety protocols, province-wide.

Elementary school students in kindergarten through Grade 8 will attend school five days per week, with 300 minutes of instruction per day, remaining in one cohort for the full day. Cohorted classes will stay together and with one teacher, where possible. Students may be placed into small groups (for example special education support, English-language learning) with students from other cohorts.

Students may use common spaces (for example, cafeterias, libraries). Members of different cohorts can interact outside with distancing encouraged or inside with distancing and masking. Specialized education staff and teachers, such as French teachers, education support staff (for example, education assistants) are permitted to go into classrooms, and multiple schools to provide the full breadth of programming for students.

Secondary

Secondary schools will provide daily in-person learning for the full duration of the school day (five instructional hours).

For the winter semester starting in February 2022, school boards can move to regular timetabling models (such as, four courses per day) unless it is not supported by their local medical officer of health.

It is important that all models allow secondary students to earn compulsory credits required for the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD), as well as provide access to types of elective courses that support all postsecondary pathway destinations. Timetabling of prerequisite Grade 12 courses should consider post-secondary application and admission deadlines.

If supported by the local medical officer of health, secondary schools may return to regular timetables in first semester. This change became effective as early as November 2021.

Remote learning

Remote learning remains an option for parents even as school boards are planning for students to return to in-person learning. School boards will be required to provide students learning remotely with 300 minutes of learning opportunities and adhere to requirements outlined in Policy/Program Memorandum No. 164. This policy outlines remote learning requirements for school boards, including providing access to remote learning devices and minimum synchronous learning time.

To be prepared for a potential closure, school boards should have plans in place so they can move to remote learning quickly to ensure continuity of learning for students. Staff, students and families should be aware of the school board's remote learning plan should the need arise to move to remote learning in the event of classroom, school or board closure.

The ministry provides all school boards access at no cost to a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) for use by educators and students, powered by D2L's Brightspace. The VLE is a secure online learning management system for hosting and delivery of online, remote and blended learning. School boards should ensure that all educators and educational support staff have an account to access their board's learning management system.