In addition to the Education Act, other legislation is relevant to the education of students with special education needs.

  • Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). This act allows the government to develop specific standards for accessibility and to enforce them. The goal of the act is to create an accessible Ontario by 2025 so that people of all abilities can work, play, and participate in all aspects of daily living.
  • Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Act. This act authorizes a regulation that: requires that informed consent be obtained before service is initiated; stipulates that only certified members of the College of Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists can call themselves audiologists, speech-language pathologists, or speech therapists; and deals with the availability of records and reports.
  • Bill 168: The Occupational Health and Safety Amendment Act (Violence and Harassment in the Workplace), which amends the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA). This act imposes new duties on employers to devise workplace violence and harassment policies; develop programs to implement such policies; and engage in assessments to measure the risk of workplace violence. In addition, work refusal rights and the duties of employers and supervisors under the OHSA have both been clarified to specifically apply to workplace violence.
  • Early Childhood Educators Act. This act established the College of Early Childhood Educators. The regulations and by-laws made under the act define the roles, responsibilities, and requirements for those using the title “early childhood educator” or “registered early childhood educator”.
  • Fair Access to Regulated Professions and Compulsory Trades Act. This act requires 15 non-health professions and 22 compulsory trades to have registration practices that are fair and transparent. Under this legislation, the Office of the Fairness Commissioner ensures that regulated professions, including the Ontario College of Teachers, comply with the law.
  • Freedom of information legislation.The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) governs the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information. The Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA) governs the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information at publicly funded school boards and schools.
  • Health Care Consent Act. This act sets out the elements of valid consent with respect to any medical treatment, noting that valid consent must be obtained by the health care professional before any treatment is provided. If the patient is not capable of giving consent, a substitute decision-maker must provide consent on the patient's behalf.
  • Home Care and Community Services Act (HCCSA). This act governs the provision of government-funded community services by approved agencies and service providers. The community services governed under this legislation are community support services, homemaking services, personal support services, and professional services.
  • Ontario College of Teachers Act. This act established the Ontario College of Teachers, which licenses, governs, and regulates the profession of teaching in Ontario. Under this act, the College has a duty to serve and protect the public interest.
  • Ontario College of Trades and Apprenticeship Act. This act established the Ontario College of Trades, a regulatory body designed to modernize Ontario's apprenticeship and skilled trades system. The regulations under the act also outline College registration and membership information.
  • Ontario Human Rights Code. Under the code, people have the right to equal treatment with respect to services and to treatment without discrimination on the basis of a number of grounds, including disability. Education is considered to be a service under the code, and service providers have an obligation to accommodate a person's needs, unless doing so causes “undue hardship” for the provider, “considering the cost, outside sources of funding, if any, and health and safety requirements, if any” (s. 17(2)).
  • Personal Health Information Protection Act. This act sets out rules for the collection, use, and sharing of patients' personal health information and records across the health system. The act applies to individuals and organizations in the health care sector, or “health information custodians” as referred to in the act.
  • Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. This act sets out rules for the collection, use, or disclosure of personal information from private sector organizations in the course of commercial activities. The act is intended to support and promote electronic commerce.
  • Psychology Act. This act established the College of Psychologists of Ontario to regulate the practice of psychology and sets the standards of practice for the profession. The college is responsible to the public and the profession.
  • Regulated Health Professions Act. This act and associated health profession acts set out the governing framework for the regulated health professions in Ontario. This act regulates, among other activities, the activities of health professionals who work with students, including students with special needs, and who train and supervise school staff to carry out certain health-related tasks.
  • Social Work and Social Service Work Act. This act established the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers to regulate the delivery of services provided by social workers and social service workers. The purpose of the legislation is to monitor and support high standards of practice to protect the public interest.
  • Youth Criminal Justice Act. This act governs the prosecution for criminal offences committed by young people aged 12 to 17. It establishes that the youth justice system is different from the adult system and recognizes the needs of young people.